2000
#9,922
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,001
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.11
Rare Last name
Ping
A Chinese surname referring to the sound of a musical instrument, often a lute or zither.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,009 Americans carry the last name Ping. That puts it at #11,480 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,910 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ping 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 Ping with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,910
Census rank
#11,480
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,624 bearers of the surname Ping in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11480th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ping, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.7%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ping
The surname PING is believed to have originated in China, with its earliest known origins dating back to the 5th century AD during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. This Chinese family name is thought to be derived from the word "ping," which means "level" or "peaceful" in the Chinese language.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the PING surname can be found in the Tang Dynasty poetry anthology known as the "Quan Tangshi," which includes works by several poets with the surname PING, such as PING Jixing (629-706 AD) and PING Xiyuan (683-758 AD). This suggests that the PING surname was already well-established in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the PING surname was particularly prominent in the region of Jiangxi province, where several notable figures bearing this name emerged. One such individual was PING Zhengmin (1096-1156 AD), a renowned scholar and poet who served as a high-ranking official in the imperial court.
In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the PING surname was associated with several influential families, including the PING clan of Xiangtan, Hunan province. One of the most notable members of this clan was PING He (1502-1555 AD), a successful military leader and scholar-official who played a significant role in the suppression of the Guanxi Rebellion.
Another prominent figure with the PING surname was PING Tingzhang (1636-1718 AD), a celebrated playwright and poet who lived during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912 AD). His works, such as the play "The Peony Pavilion," are considered masterpieces of Chinese literature.
During the late imperial period, the PING surname was also found in other regions of China, such as Shandong and Guangdong provinces. However, its highest concentration remained in the areas of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, where it had been historically rooted for centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ping
Among Census respondents with the surname Ping, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.7%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Ping 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 Ping surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.3% · 1,765
- Asian and Pacific Islander23.7% · 621
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 117
- Two or more races3.5% · 91
- Black or African American0.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ping
Ping 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
#10,036
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,209
+208 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 114 places
2020
#11,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,624
-585 bearers (-18.2%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 1,444 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,922 | 3,001 | 1.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,036 | 3,209 | 1.09 | +208 bearers (+6.9%) | Down 114 places |
| 2020 | #11,480 | 2,624 | 0.88 | -585 bearers (-18.2%) | Down 1,444 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 Ping 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 | #10,036 | #11,480 | -14.4% |
| Count | 3,209 | 2,624 | -18.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 0.88 | -19.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ping bearers went from 3,209 to 2,624 (-18.2% change). The surname moved down 1,444 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,036 to #11,480.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ping
FAQ
Ping surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ping?
Name Census estimates that about 3,009 living Americans carry the surname Ping. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,910 residents.
How common is Ping?
Ping ranks #11,480 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,624 people with the surname Ping. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,009), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Ping.
Has Ping become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ping went from 3,209 recorded bearers to 2,624. That is a decrease of 585 (-18.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,036 to #11,480.
What does the Census say about the background of Ping?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ping, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.7%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ping in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.3% (1,765 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ping appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (23.7%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Ping (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 Ping mean?
A Chinese surname referring to the sound of a musical instrument, often a lute or zither. 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 Ping (0.88 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 surname Ping?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.