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

Sung, 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 Sung surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sung in America

Sung is the 4801st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sung surname appeared 7,360 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Sung.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sung 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 Sung

The surname Sung originates from China and has been in use since ancient times. It is derived from the Chinese word "song," which means "pine" or "pine tree." The name was likely given to families living near or associated with pine trees or pine forests.

The Sung surname first appeared in historical records during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), which ruled over a unified China. It was a common surname in the central and eastern regions of the country, particularly in the provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sung can be found in the "Book of Han," a historical text written during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD). The book mentions a scholar named Sung Chien, who lived during the 2nd century AD and was known for his expertise in Confucian teachings.

During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), the Sung surname gained prominence with the rise of the Sung family of scholars and officials. One notable figure was Sung Lien (c. 1310–1381), a renowned calligrapher and poet who served as a high-ranking official under the Yuan Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), the Sung surname was particularly common in the Zhejiang province. One famous individual from this era was Sung Ying-hsing (1587–1666), a renowned agronomist and author of the influential work "Tian Gong Kai Wu" (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature).

Another prominent figure with the Sung surname was Sung Tzu-wen (1718–1804), a Qing Dynasty scholar and calligrapher who was known for his mastery of the "running script" style of Chinese calligraphy.

In more recent history, the Sung surname has been carried by notable individuals such as Sung Jao-ren (1880–1939), a Chinese diplomat and politician who served as the first Prime Minister of the Republic of China, and Sung Tse-ven (1899–1971), a Chinese mathematician and educator known for his contributions to number theory and probability theory.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sung

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

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

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

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