Yao Ming
There are approximately 1 people named Yao Ming living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Yao with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Ming. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Yao
106
Alive today
Named Ming
4.4K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 106
Rarity: Very Rare
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1984
Average age: 21
Estimated bearers: 4.4K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #8,718
Per 100K: 1.28
Top ancestry: White (49.6%)
First name trend
Yao: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Yao. The peak year was 1984 with 10 births. The average person named Yao today is 21 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Ming surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Ming, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 49.6%.
- White49.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander21.6%
- Black or African American19.6%
- Two or more races4.5%
- Hispanic or Latino3.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Yao has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0000% of the US population, based on 106 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Ming appears at a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0013%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Yao Ming. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Yao Ming: questions and answers
How many people are named Yao Ming?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Yao Ming. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0000%) with the surname frequency (1.28 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Yao Ming?
We classify Yao Ming as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Yao a male or female name?
Yao is predominantly male. Out of 108 total SSA registrations, 100.0% were male and 0.0% were female. See the full Yao profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.