Tran
A gender-neutral Vietnamese name derived from the Chinese surname "Chen".
Name Census estimates that about 660 living Americans carry the first name Tran. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Tran today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tran births was 1993 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tran. 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 Tran with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
660
~ 1 in 519,325 Americans
Peak year
1993
36 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
1998 SSA rank
#11,174
Tracked since 1975
Census
Tran in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,380 people with the first name Tran, which placed it at #3,738 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
#3,738
National first-name rank
People counted
5.4K
5,380 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tran
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tran is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.0%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Tran 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 Tran at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.8% · 5,152
- White2.0% · 110
- Black or African American1.0% · 53
- Two or more races0.8% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Tran
Tran leans heavily female at 81.4% of total registrations, but 128 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tran as a male name
- Ranked #11,174 in 1998
- 5 male births in 1998
- Peak: 1980 (17 births)
Tran as a female name
- Ranked #18,231 in 2017
- 5 female births in 2017
- Peak: 1993 (28 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tran leans strongly female. 4,336 people counted with this name were female (80.5%), compared with 1,048 male bearers (19.5%).
Popularity
Tran: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tran from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 248 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
Tran 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 Tran during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Trans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tran
The given name Tran has its origins in the Vietnamese language and culture. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period in Vietnam, possibly as early as the 10th century CE. Tran may have derived from an older Vietnamese word or phrase, but its precise etymology remains uncertain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tran can be found in historical records from the Tran Dynasty, which ruled Vietnam from 1225 to 1400 CE. This dynasty was founded by Tran Thu Do, who took the throne name Tran Thai Tong. Several subsequent rulers of the Tran Dynasty also bore the name Tran as part of their official titles.
Beyond its association with the Tran Dynasty, the name Tran does not appear to have any specific references in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, it has been used by various notable individuals throughout Vietnamese history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the given name Tran was Tran Hung Dao (1228-1300 CE), a renowned military commander and strategist who played a crucial role in Vietnam's resistance against Mongol invasions. His military genius and leadership were instrumental in preserving Vietnam's independence during the 13th century.
Another prominent figure with the name Tran was Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308 CE), a Buddhist monk and the third emperor of the Tran Dynasty. He was known for his efforts to promote Buddhism and establish a code of laws that governed various aspects of Vietnamese society.
In more recent times, Tran Van Giau (1902-1986) was a respected Vietnamese scholar and writer who made significant contributions to the study of Vietnamese language and literature. He was also a prominent figure in the country's independence movement against French colonial rule.
Tran Van Khê (1923-2015) was a Vietnamese diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vietnam from 1967 to 1971. He played a key role in international relations during the Vietnam War era.
Tran Duc Luong (born 1937) is a former Vietnamese politician who served as the President of Vietnam from 1997 to 2006. He was known for his efforts to promote economic reforms and improve Vietnam's international relations during his tenure.
While the name Tran has been predominantly used in Vietnam, it has also been adopted by individuals of Vietnamese descent living in other parts of the world. However, the historical and cultural roots of this given name remain firmly rooted in the Vietnamese tradition.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tran
People
Tran + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tran 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
Tran: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tran?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 660 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tran 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 519,325 US residents.
Is Tran a common name?
We classify Tran as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 687 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tran most popular?
The single biggest year for Tran was 1993, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tran is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tran in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,380 people with the name Tran, or 1.78 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,738 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 Tran 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 Tran?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tran leans strongly female. 4,336 people counted with this name were female (80.5%), compared with 1,048 male bearers (19.5%). 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 Tran?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tran is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.0%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Tran most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tran in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (5,152 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 Tran in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tran a female name?
Yes, 81.4% of people registered as Tran 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 Tran still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tran 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 Tran 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 common is the name Tran?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Tran at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.