Vang last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Vang

A Vietnamese surname derived from the Chinese surname "Wang," meaning "king" or "monarch."

Vang, 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 Vang surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vang in America

Vang is the 726th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vang surname appeared 48,036 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 16 people would have the surname Vang.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vang 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 726 982 -29.98%
Count 48,036 32,333 39.08%
Proportion per 100k 16.28 11.99 30.35%

The history of the last name Vang

The surname VANG is of Scandinavian origin, specifically from Norway and Sweden. It is believed to have originated in the early medieval period, around the 10th or 11th century. The name is derived from the Old Norse word "vangr," which means "field" or "meadow."

In Norway, the name VANG was initially found in areas such as Vang in Oppland county and Vang in Hedmark county. These place names likely influenced the formation of the surname. Some early Norwegian records mention individuals with the name VANG, though specific dates are uncertain.

The VANG surname also has a presence in Sweden, where it is thought to have originated from place names like Vång in Halland county and Vång in Västergötland county. These Swedish place names are derived from the same Old Norse root word as the Norwegian counterparts.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname VANG was Halvor Vang, a Norwegian farmer who lived in the late 16th century. Another notable figure was Anders Vang, a Swedish soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).

In the 17th century, the VANG surname appeared in various records, such as church registers and census documents. For example, Peder Vang was a Norwegian farmer born in 1632, while Olof Vang was a Swedish blacksmith born in 1657.

During the 18th century, the VANG name continued to be prominent in Scandinavia. One notable individual was Nils Vang, a Norwegian merchant and ship owner who lived from 1712 to 1789. In Sweden, Johan Vang (1741-1815) was a respected Lutheran clergyman and author.

As people migrated from Scandinavia to other parts of the world, the VANG surname spread to new regions. In the 19th century, individuals with the name VANG can be found in records from countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, reflecting the migration patterns of that era.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vang

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

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 Vang was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 1.37% 658
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 96.70% 46,451
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.41% 677
Hispanic Origin 0.42% 202

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 Vang has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 1.37% 1.44% -4.98%
Black (S)% 0.15% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 96.70% 92.90% 4.01%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.05% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.41% 4.83% -109.62%
Hispanic 0.42% 0.63% -40.00%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Vang last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 26, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/vang-surname-popularity/.

"Vang last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/vang-surname-popularity/. Accessed 26 July, 2024

Vang last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/vang-surname-popularity/.

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