Vang Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin

In this article we'll look at the origin and meaning of the surname Vang and how popular it is in the United States. We'll also look at the race and ethnic origin of people in the United States who are named Vang.

Vang, like all of the 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.

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What is the Origin and Meaning of the Last Name Vang?

The Vang surname has several different origins, arising in a number of languages. A highly common name in Laos, it is likely a variant of the common Chinese name Wang. Deriving from the Chinese word for King, the Wang name is one of the most commonly used globally.

Vang is a name also found in the United States where a large number of Hmong speaking Laotians have immigrated. In the mid-1970s over half of the Hmong population of Laos fled the country. Thousands found their way to refugee camps in Thailand before being relocated to other countries.

In Scandinavia, the surname Vang is a habitual name that derives from the Old Norse word vangr which means “field or meadow.” In Scandinavia there are many place names that feature the word Vang so the name may be given to someone who was born in or lived in such places. It is a less common version of the name but it is also found as a surname in the countries of Denmark and Norway.

Vang Pao (8 December 1929 – 6 January 2011) was born in the Hmong village of Nonghet in the northeastern region of Laos. Vang's early life was spent as a farmer until the Japanese invaded French Indochina during WWII. Sent away to school by his father, Vang found himself joining the French army in a bid to help protect his fellow Hmong people. Vang holds the distinction of being the only ethnic Hmong to attain the rank of General in the Royal Laos Army.

Where Does Vang Rank in the Most Common U.S. Names?

According to the data, Vang is ranked #726 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

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 16.28 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%

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: "White only", "Black only", "American Indian and Alaskan Native only", "Asian and Pacific Islander only", "Two or More Races", and "Hispanic".

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Vang was:

  • 1.37%, or 658 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only".
  • (S), or less than 100 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Black Only".
  • 96.70%, or 46,451 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only".
  • (S), or less than 100 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native".
  • 1.41%, or 677 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races".
  • 0.42%, or 202 total occurrences, were "Hispanic Origin".

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% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 96.70% 92.90% 4.01%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S) 0.05% 0.00%
Two or More Races 1.41% 4.83% -109.62%
Hispanic 0.42% 0.63% -40.00%

Data Source(s)

All of the data on this page is sourced from the Decennial Census survey, from the United States Census Bureau.

Link To or Reference This Page

We spent a lot of time 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, Meaning and Origin". NameCensus.com. Accessed on March 29, 2024. https://namecensus.com/last-names/vang-surname-popularity/.

  • "Vang Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/vang-surname-popularity/. Accessed 29 March, 2024

  • Vang Last Name Popularity, Meaning and Origin. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from https://namecensus.com/last-names/vang-surname-popularity/.