Chung
A Chinese name meaning "loyalty", "completed", or "middle".
Name Census estimates that about 197 living Americans carry the first name Chung. It is a predominantly male name (94.7% of registrations). The average person named Chung today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chung births was 1982 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chung. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Chung with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
197
~ 1 in 1,739,870 Americans
Peak year
1982
17 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1996 SSA rank
#9,244
Tracked since 1942
Census
Chung in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,940 people with the first name Chung, which placed it at #3,491 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,491
National first-name rank
People counted
5.9K
5,940 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chung
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Chung 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Chung at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.8% · 5,809
- White0.9% · 53
- Two or more races0.7% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 20
- Black or African American0.3% · 18
Gender
Gender distribution for Chung
Chung leans heavily male at 94.7% of total registrations, but 11 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Chung as a male name
- Ranked #9,244 in 1996
- 5 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1982 (17 births)
Chung as a female name
- Ranked #10,081 in 1987
- 6 female births in 1987
- Peak: 1987 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chung on both sides of the split. Of the 5,952 people counted with this name, 3,790 were male (63.7%) and 2,162 were female (36.3%).
Popularity
Chung: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chung from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 110 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Chung remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chung by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chung during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chungs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chung
The name Chung has its origins in ancient China, and it is believed to have been derived from the Chinese word "zhong," which means "middle" or "central." This name was particularly popular during the Han Dynasty, which ruled China from 206 BC to 220 AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chung can be found in the classic Chinese philosophical text, the Analects of Confucius, which dates back to the 5th century BC. In this text, there is a reference to a person named Chung Yu, who was a disciple of Confucius.
During the Tang Dynasty, which ruled China from 618 to 907 AD, the name Chung was particularly popular among the aristocracy and scholar-officials. One notable figure from this period was Chung Yen (601-675 AD), a renowned Buddhist monk and calligrapher who played a significant role in the development of Chan Buddhism.
In the realm of literature, the name Chung is associated with the great Chinese poet and statesman, Chung Shan (1038-1101 AD), who was known for his poetic works and his contributions to the reformist policies of the Song Dynasty.
Another prominent figure in Chinese history who bore the name Chung was Chung Tzu (369-286 BC), a philosopher and logician who lived during the Warring States period. His teachings and writings influenced the development of Chinese philosophy and logic.
Chung Yao (1636-1713 AD) was a renowned Chinese painter and calligrapher who lived during the Qing Dynasty. He is known for his innovative techniques and his ability to capture the essence of nature in his works.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Chung, but there are many others who have contributed to various fields, including literature, art, philosophy, and religion.
People
Chung + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chung as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chung: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chung?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 197 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chung going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,739,870 US residents.
Is Chung a common name?
We classify Chung as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 209 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chung most popular?
The single biggest year for Chung was 1982, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chung is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chung in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,940 people with the name Chung, or 1.97 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,491 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Chung in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Chung?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chung on both sides of the split. Of the 5,952 people counted with this name, 3,790 were male (63.7%) and 2,162 were female (36.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Chung?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chung is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Chung most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chung in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (5,809 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chung in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chung a male name?
Yes, 94.7% of people registered as Chung in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chung still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chung in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chung can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Chung as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Chung on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.