Son
A masculine given name of Korean origin meaning "good, handsome".
Name Census estimates that about 606 living Americans carry the first name Son. It is a predominantly male name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Son today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Son births was 1982 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Son. 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 Son with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
606
~ 1 in 565,601 Americans
Peak year
1982
41 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2019 SSA rank
#6,897
Tracked since 1884
Census
Son in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 43,269 people with the first name Son, which placed it at #994 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
#994
National first-name rank
People counted
43K
43,269 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
14.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
39.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Son
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Son is White at 39.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.7%) and Hispanic (20.2%). 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 Son 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 Son at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White39.5% · 17,107
- Asian and Pacific Islander24.7% · 10,679
- Hispanic or Latino20.2% · 8,729
- Black or African American12.5% · 5,394
- Two or more races2.3% · 974
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 386
Gender
Gender distribution for Son
Out of the 1,066 babies given the name Son since 1880, 99.5% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Son as a male name
- Ranked #13,852 in 2019
- 5 male births in 2019
- Peak: 1982 (41 births)
Son as a female name
- Ranked #6,897 in 1957
- 5 female births in 1957
- Peak: 1957 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Son leans strongly male. 41,697 people counted with this name were male (96.4%), compared with 1,578 female bearers (3.6%).
Popularity
Son: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Son from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 288 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
Son 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 Son during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Son, while Mississippi, Louisiana, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Son
The name Son has its origins in the Vietnamese language and culture, derived from the word "con," which means "child" or "offspring." It is a timeless name that carries a simple yet profound meaning, reflecting the strong familial bonds and respect for lineage in Vietnamese society.
Son was not uncommon in ancient Vietnam, where family structures and generational ties held great significance. The name can be traced back to ancient Vietnamese texts and historical records, although the exact time period of its earliest usage is difficult to pinpoint due to the scarcity of written records from that era.
In Vietnamese mythology and folklore, Son is sometimes associated with stories and legends that celebrate the virtues of filial piety, reverence for ancestors, and the importance of carrying on the family legacy. While not explicitly mentioned in religious scriptures, the name's meaning aligns with the cultural values of harmony, respect, and continuity.
Some notable historical figures who bore the name Son include:
1. Son Tra (1144-1200), a renowned Vietnamese military leader and strategist during the Ly Dynasty, renowned for his victories against the Champa and Khmer empires.
2. Son Tung Mat (1638-1700), a prominent Vietnamese poet and scholar during the Later Le Dynasty, known for his contributions to the development of the Chu Nom script.
3. Son Tay (1748-1825), a Vietnamese general and military leader who led successful campaigns against the Siamese invaders during the Tay Son Uprising.
4. Son Nam Dinh (1818-1890), a Vietnamese prince and military commander who played a crucial role in the resistance against French colonization in the 19th century.
5. Son Phuoc Thuan (1870-1924), a Vietnamese scholar and reformer who advocated for modernization and educational reforms during the French colonial period.
While these historical figures may not be widely recognized outside of Vietnam, their names and deeds have left an indelible mark on the nation's history and cultural heritage.
The name Son continues to be a popular choice among Vietnamese families, carrying with it a deep-rooted cultural meaning and connection to the country's rich history and traditions.
People
Son + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Son as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Son: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Son?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 606 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Son 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 565,601 US residents.
Is Son a common name?
We classify Son as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,066 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Son most popular?
The single biggest year for Son was 1982, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Son is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Son in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 43,269 people with the name Son, or 14.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #994 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 Son 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 Son?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Son leans strongly male. 41,697 people counted with this name were male (96.4%), compared with 1,578 female bearers (3.6%). 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 Son?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Son is White at 39.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.7%) and Hispanic (20.2%). 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 Son most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Son in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.5% (17,107 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 Son in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Son a male name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Son 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 Son still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Son 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 Son 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 Americans are named Son?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.