2000
#2,951
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,214
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.16
Uncommon Last name
Luong
A Vietnamese surname referring to a person who practices traditional medicine or healing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,092 Americans carry the last name Luong. That puts it at #2,113 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,953 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Luong surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Luong with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,953
Census rank
#2,113
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,649 bearers of the surname Luong in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2113th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Luong, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and White (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Luong
The surname Luong originated in Vietnam during the Ly Dynasty, which ruled from 1009 to 1225 AD. It is derived from the Vietnamese word luong, meaning "salary" or "wages." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who worked as government officials or in other positions where they received a salary.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Luong surname can be found in the Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, a historical record of the Dai Viet kingdom (modern-day Vietnam) from the 13th century. This record mentions a man named Luong Van Tung, who lived during the reign of the Tran Dynasty in the late 13th century.
In the 15th century, a famous Vietnamese poet and philosopher named Luong Nhu Hoc (1438-1505) gained recognition for his works on Confucian thought and ethical teachings. His writings were widely studied and influential during the Le Dynasty.
Another notable figure with the Luong surname was Luong Dinh Cua (1625-1679), a military leader and strategist who played a crucial role in defending Vietnam against the Qing Dynasty's invasions in the late 17th century.
In more recent history, Luong Trong Tuong (1912-1995) was a prominent Vietnamese politician and diplomat who served as the Foreign Minister of South Vietnam from 1964 to 1965.
Luong Xuan Nhi (1913-1989) was a respected Vietnamese writer and literary critic known for his contributions to modern Vietnamese literature and his advocacy for cultural preservation during the Vietnam War.
While the surname Luong is primarily associated with Vietnam, it has also been adopted by individuals of Vietnamese descent living in other countries, particularly in Southeast Asia and Western nations with significant Vietnamese diasporas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luong
Among Census respondents with the surname Luong, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and White (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Luong bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Luong surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.6% · 15,920
- Two or more races1.8% · 308
- White1.4% · 225
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 159
- Black or African American0.2% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Luong
Luong appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,499
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,464
+3,250 bearers (+29.0%)
Per 100,000 4.90
Rank movement Up 452 places
2020
#2,113
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,649
+2,185 bearers (+15.1%)
Per 100,000 5.57
Rank movement Up 386 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,951 | 11,214 | 4.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,499 | 14,464 | 4.90 | +3,250 bearers (+29.0%) | Up 452 places |
| 2020 | #2,113 | 16,649 | 5.57 | +2,185 bearers (+15.1%) | Up 386 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Luong surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,499 | #2,113 | 15.4% |
| Count | 14,464 | 16,649 | 15.1% |
| Per 100K | 4.90 | 5.57 | 13.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Luong bearers went from 14,464 to 16,649 (+15.1% change). The surname moved up 386 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,499 to #2,113.
FAQ
Luong surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Luong?
Name Census estimates that about 19,092 living Americans carry the surname Luong. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,953 residents.
How common is Luong?
Luong ranks #2,113 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,649 people with the surname Luong. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,092), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Luong.
Has Luong become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Luong went from 14,464 recorded bearers to 16,649. That is an increase of 2,185 (+15.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,499 to #2,113.
What does the Census say about the background of Luong?
Among Census respondents with the surname Luong, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and White (1.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Luong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (15,920 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Luong appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (95.6%), Two or More Races (1.8%), White (1.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Luong (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Luong mean?
A Vietnamese surname referring to a person who practices traditional medicine or healing. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Luong (5.57 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Luong?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Luong, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.