Que
A feminine Vietnamese name referring to "precious" or "jewel."
Name Census estimates that about 105 living Americans carry the first name Que. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Que today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Que births was 2022 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Que. 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
105
~ 1 in 3,264,327 Americans
Peak year
2022
11 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,624
Tracked since 1916
Census
Que in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,221 people with the first name Que, which placed it at #10,762 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
#10,762
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
62.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Que
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Que is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (25.9%) and White (7.2%). 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 Que 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 Que at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander62.3% · 761
- Black or African American25.9% · 316
- White7.2% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 29
- Two or more races2.0% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Popularity
Que: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Que from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 41 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Que 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 Que during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ques live
Origin
Meaning and history of Que
The name Que has its origins in the Vietnamese language, where it is derived from the word "quê," meaning "homeland" or "native place." The name first emerged during the medieval period in Vietnam, possibly as early as the 11th century.
Que was a popular name among the Vietnamese people, particularly those living in rural areas or villages. It was often given to children as a way of honoring their ancestral roots and connection to their homeland. The name also carried connotations of humility, simplicity, and a deep appreciation for one's cultural heritage.
In ancient Vietnamese literature, the name Que is mentioned in several folk tales and poems, reflecting its widespread use among the commoners and peasantry. One notable example can be found in the 15th-century epic poem "The Tale of Kieu," written by the revered poet Nguyen Du, where a character named Que is depicted as a humble and hardworking farmer.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Que can be traced back to the 13th century, during the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400). One of the most famous historical figures bearing this name was Que Van Linh, a renowned military general who played a pivotal role in defending Vietnam against Mongol invasions in the late 13th century.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the name Que. One prominent example is Que Huong (1920-2001), a celebrated Vietnamese writer and poet whose works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Another notable figure was Que Chi (1932-2022), a celebrated Vietnamese actress and singer who gained immense popularity in the mid-20th century.
In the realm of politics, Que Duong (1910-1988) was a prominent Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who played a crucial role in the struggle for independence against French colonial rule. More recently, Que Ngoc Hai (born 1962) is a renowned Vietnamese artist known for her vivid and expressive paintings depicting the landscapes and daily life of rural Vietnam.
While the name Que has its roots in Vietnamese culture, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, albeit with different meanings and origins. For instance, in Spanish-speaking countries, "Que" is a common abbreviation of the name "Quetzal," derived from the legendary Quetzal bird of Mesoamerican mythology.
People
Que + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Que as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Que: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Que?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 105 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Que 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 3,264,327 US residents.
Is Que a common name?
We classify Que as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 119 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Que most popular?
The single biggest year for Que was 2022, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Que is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Que in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,221 people with the name Que, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,762 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 Que 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 Que?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Que on both sides of the split. Of the 1,215 people counted with this name, 542 were male (44.6%) and 673 were female (55.4%). 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 Que?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Que is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (25.9%) and White (7.2%). 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 Que most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Que in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.3% (761 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 Que in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Que a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Que 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 Que still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Que 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 Que 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 named Que?
Want to know how many people share the name Que? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.