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

Kong, 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 Kong surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kong in America

Kong is the 2551st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kong surname appeared 14,165 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Kong.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kong 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 Kong

The surname Kong originated in China, where it first appeared around the 6th century CE. The name is derived from the Chinese word "kong," meaning "vast" or "empty," and may have originally referred to someone who lived in a remote or sparsely populated area.

In ancient Chinese records, the earliest known mention of the surname Kong can be found in the Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) text "Beitang Shuchao," which lists it among the noble families of the time. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), the Kong surname was particularly prominent in the regions of Henan and Shandong provinces.

One of the most famous historical figures with the Kong surname was Kong Qiu, better known as Confucius (551-479 BCE), the renowned Chinese philosopher and teacher whose ideas and writings had a profound influence on East Asian culture and thought. Another notable person was Kong Rong (153-208 CE), a prominent scholar and statesman during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In the 13th century, the Mongolian leader Kublai Khan appointed a man named Kong Xuan as the governor of Xiangyang, a strategic city in what is now Hubei province. Kong Xuan's descendants continued to hold power in the region for several generations, contributing to the spread of the Kong surname.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE), the Kong surname was particularly prevalent in the provinces of Shandong, Henan, and Jiangsu. One notable figure from this period was Kong Qi (1562-1619), a renowned painter and calligrapher who served as an official in the Ming imperial court.

In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912 CE), the Kong surname remained prominent in northern China. One notable individual was Kong Youde (1832-1890), a scholar and reformer who advocated for modernization and Western learning during the late Qing period.

Throughout history, the Kong surname has been associated with scholars, officials, and intellectuals in China, reflecting the Confucian values of education and public service that were deeply ingrained in Chinese culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kong

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

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 Kong 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 Kong 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 Kong was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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