Find out how popular the last name Jiang is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Jiang.

Jiang, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Jiang surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jiang in America

Jiang is the 1849th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jiang surname appeared 19,409 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Jiang.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jiang to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Jiang

The surname Jiang is of Chinese origin, tracing its roots back to ancient times. It is a monosyllabic surname, derived from the Chinese character "姜" (jiāng), which was originally a clan name during the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC). The character itself is composed of the radical "女" (nǚ), meaning "woman," and the phonetic component "京" (jīng), suggesting a connection to the capital city or a metropolitan area.

The earliest recorded use of the surname Jiang dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (772–476 BC), when it appeared in historical texts such as the "Zuo Zhuan" and the "Shiji" (Records of the Grand Historian) by Sima Qian. These ancient records mention prominent figures bearing the Jiang surname, including Jiang Shang, a minister of the State of Jin, and Jiang Ziya, a legendary military strategist who served King Wen of Zhou.

During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), the Jiang surname gained further prominence with the rise of influential families and individuals. One notable example is Jiang Zongxuan (683–727), a renowned poet and calligrapher who served as a high-ranking official in the imperial court. Additionally, the Jiang clan played a significant role in the establishment of the Jiang-Nan region, which encompasses parts of modern-day Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces.

In the Song Dynasty (960–1279), the Jiang surname continued to be associated with prominent scholars and officials. Jiang Shunfu (1024–1094) was a renowned philosopher and writer who made significant contributions to Neo-Confucianism. Another notable figure was Jiang Wen (1339–1384), a military general and strategist who served under the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang.

The Jiang surname has also been carried by notable figures in more recent history. Jiang Zemin (born 1926), a former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of China from 1993 to 2003, is perhaps one of the most well-known individuals with this surname. Other notable Jiangs include Jiang Qing (1914–1991), the last wife of Mao Zedong and a prominent figure during the Cultural Revolution, and Jiang Liangquan (1604–1691), a renowned landscape painter of the Ming Dynasty.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jiang

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Jiang.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Jiang was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Jiang has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Jiang was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Jiang, please contact us.

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