Ting
A feminine given name of Chinese origin representing a "melodious sound".
Name Census estimates that about 85 living Americans carry the first name Ting. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Ting today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ting births was 2001 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ting. 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 Ting with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ting. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
85
~ 1 in 4,032,404 Americans
Peak year
2001
12 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2001 SSA rank
#12,154
Tracked since 1984
Census
Ting in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,038 people with the first name Ting, which placed it at #4,558 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
#4,558
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,038 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ting
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ting is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Ting 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 Ting at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.6% · 3,899
- White2.3% · 94
- Two or more races0.4% · 18
- Black or African American0.3% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Ting
Ting leans heavily female at 83.0% of total registrations, but 15 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ting as a male name
- Ranked #12,154 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1992 (5 births)
Ting as a female name
- Ranked #19,845 in 2006
- 5 female births in 2006
- Peak: 1984 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ting on both sides of the split. Of the 4,037 people counted with this name, 1,203 were male (29.8%) and 2,834 were female (70.2%).
Popularity
Ting: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ting from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 40 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
Ting 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 Ting during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tings live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ting
The given name Ting has its origins in the Chinese language, dating back to ancient times. It is a single-syllable name that holds particular significance in Chinese culture.
In Mandarin Chinese, the character '廷' is pronounced 'ting' and means 'courtyard' or 'hall'. It was often used in reference to the imperial court or palace, signifying a connection to royalty or nobility. The name Ting may have been given to children born into aristocratic families or those with ties to the imperial court.
Historically, the name Ting can be found in various Chinese literary works and records from as early as the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). It was a relatively common name among the ruling classes and scholars during this period.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ting is Ting Lan, a renowned calligrapher and painter who lived during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD). His works were highly influential in the development of Chinese calligraphy and painting styles.
Another notable figure with the name Ting was Ting Kung-Pao, a military strategist and advisor who served under the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). He played a crucial role in several military campaigns and was known for his tactical acumen.
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), there was a famous painter and poet named Ting Shou-Cheng. His landscape paintings and calligraphic works were highly regarded and celebrated for their beauty and depth.
In more recent history, Ting Pei, a prominent architect and urban planner, made significant contributions to the development of modern Chinese cities in the early 20th century. He was born in 1886 and his innovative designs left a lasting impact on urban planning in China.
Another notable figure was Ting Wen-Chiang, a Taiwanese diplomat and politician who played a crucial role in the country's transition to democracy. He was born in 1926 and served as the Vice President of Taiwan from 1990 to 1996.
While the name Ting has its roots in ancient Chinese culture, it has transcended borders and has been adopted by various other cultures and societies over time, reflecting the global influence of Chinese heritage and tradition.
People
Ting + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ting as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ting: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ting?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 85 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ting 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 4,032,404 US residents.
Is Ting a common name?
We classify Ting as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 88 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ting most popular?
The single biggest year for Ting was 2001, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ting is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ting in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,038 people with the name Ting, or 1.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,558 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 Ting 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 Ting?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ting on both sides of the split. Of the 4,037 people counted with this name, 1,203 were male (29.8%) and 2,834 were female (70.2%). 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 Ting?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ting is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Ting most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ting in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (3,899 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 Ting in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ting a female name?
Yes, 83.0% of people registered as Ting 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 Ting still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ting 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 Ting 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 share the name Ting?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.