Hanh
A feminine Vietnamese name meaning "flowers" or "blooming".
Name Census estimates that about 450 living Americans carry the first name Hanh. It is a predominantly female name (95.6% of registrations). The average person named Hanh today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hanh births was 1982 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hanh. 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.
People living today
450
~ 1 in 761,676 Americans
Peak year
1982
42 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1984 SSA rank
#4,028
Tracked since 1976
Census
Hanh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,161 people with the first name Hanh, which placed it at #2,835 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
#2,835
National first-name rank
People counted
8.2K
8,161 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hanh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hanh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.6%) and White (0.5%). 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 Hanh 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 Hanh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.5% · 8,035
- Two or more races0.6% · 52
- White0.5% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 18
- Black or African American0.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Hanh
Hanh leans heavily female at 95.6% of total registrations, but 21 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hanh as a male name
- Ranked #4,028 in 1984
- 10 male births in 1984
- Peak: 1984 (10 births)
Hanh as a female name
- Ranked #12,900 in 2003
- 7 female births in 2003
- Peak: 1982 (36 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hanh leans strongly female. 6,954 people counted with this name were female (85.3%), compared with 1,201 male bearers (14.7%).
Popularity
Hanh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hanh from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 273 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hanh 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 Hanh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hanhs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hanh
The name Hanh has its origins in the Vietnamese language, where it is a feminine given name. It is derived from the Vietnamese word "hanh," which means "fragrant" or "aromatic." The name is believed to have emerged as a popular choice for girls in Vietnam during the medieval period, around the 10th to 15th centuries.
In Vietnamese culture, names often carry symbolic meanings and are chosen with the intention of evoking positive qualities or aspirations for the child. The name Hanh is associated with the idea of a pleasant and appealing fragrance, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for a person's character, reputation, or the impact they have on those around them.
While the name Hanh does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is likely that its popularity stemmed from the cultural significance placed on names and their meanings in Vietnamese society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hanh can be found in the historical records of the Ly Dynasty, which ruled Vietnam from 1009 to 1225. During this period, a woman named Hanh Nhan, who lived in the 12th century, is mentioned as being a skilled poet and calligrapher.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Hanh. These include:
1. Hanh Nguyen (born 1967), a Vietnamese-American author and journalist known for her memoir "Endless Filth."
2. Hanh Thi Pham (born 1966), a Vietnamese-American mathematician and professor at the University of California, Riverside.
3. Hanh Le (born 1988), a Vietnamese-American actress and model, known for her roles in films like "The Rebel" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny."
4. Hanh Truong (born 1971), a Vietnamese-Australian chef and restaurateur who has appeared on various cooking shows and authored several cookbooks.
5. Hanh Nguyen Van (1905-1986), a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist who advocated for non-violence during the Vietnam War.
While the name Hanh has its roots in Vietnamese culture, it has also gained recognition and popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among Vietnamese diaspora communities. However, it is important to note that the historical and cultural significance of the name is deeply rooted in its Vietnamese origins.
People
Hanh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hanh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hanh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hanh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 450 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hanh 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 761,676 US residents.
Is Hanh a common name?
We classify Hanh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 475 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hanh most popular?
The single biggest year for Hanh was 1982, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hanh is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hanh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,161 people with the name Hanh, or 2.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,835 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 Hanh 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 Hanh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hanh leans strongly female. 6,954 people counted with this name were female (85.3%), compared with 1,201 male bearers (14.7%). 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 Hanh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hanh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.6%) and White (0.5%). 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 Hanh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Hanh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.5% (8,035 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 Hanh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hanh a female name?
Yes, 95.6% of people registered as Hanh in the SSA data are female. 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 Hanh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hanh 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 Hanh 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 are called Hanh?
You can see how many people have the name Hanh on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.