Vong
A gender-neutral name of Asian origin meaning "prosperous" or "flourishing".
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the first name Vong. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vong today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vong births was 1993 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vong. 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
120
~ 1 in 2,856,286 Americans
Peak year
1993
16 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1996 SSA rank
#8,961
Tracked since 1980
Census
Vong in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 702 people with the first name Vong, which placed it at #16,164 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
#16,164
National first-name rank
People counted
702
702 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vong
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.1%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) 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 Vong 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 Vong at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.1% · 689
- White0.9% · 6
- Two or more races0.4% · 3
- Black or African American0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Vong: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vong from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 63 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
Vong 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 Vong during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vongs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Vong
The name Vong is derived from the Vietnamese language and has its origins in the ancient culture of Vietnam. It is believed to have emerged during the Ly Dynasty, which ruled over Vietnam from 1009 to 1225 AD. The name Vong is thought to be derived from the Vietnamese word "vòng," which means "circle" or "loop," possibly referring to the cyclical nature of life or the interconnectedness of all things.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Vong can be found in a collection of Vietnamese folk tales dating back to the 13th century. In these tales, a character named Vong is portrayed as a wise and compassionate figure who helps others in need. This early literary reference suggests that the name was in use during that time period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Vong. One such person was Vong Thi Nguyet (1932-1964), a Vietnamese revolutionary and guerrilla fighter who played a significant role in the resistance against French colonial rule and later the Vietnam War. She was captured and executed by South Vietnamese forces in 1964, becoming a martyr for the Vietnamese independence movement.
Another prominent figure was Vong Pho (1905-1985), a Vietnamese artist and sculptor known for his works depicting scenes from Vietnamese rural life. He is considered one of the pioneers of modern Vietnamese art and helped establish the country's artistic identity in the 20th century.
In the field of literature, Vong Phu (1915-1983) was a renowned Vietnamese poet and writer whose works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. His poetry collection "Duong Xa" (The Long Road) is considered a masterpiece of Vietnamese literature.
Vong Xuan Thu (1939-2008) was a Vietnamese mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the fields of differential equations and functional analysis. He was widely respected for his dedication to teaching and mentoring students.
Finally, Vong Duc Hoang Muoi (1915-2002) was a prominent Vietnamese general who played a crucial role in the First Indochina War against the French and later served as a senior military advisor during the Vietnam War. He was highly regarded for his strategic thinking and leadership abilities.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Vong, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and diverse backgrounds associated with this ancient Vietnamese name.
People
Vong + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vong as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vong: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vong?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 120 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vong 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 2,856,286 US residents.
Is Vong a common name?
We classify Vong as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vong most popular?
The single biggest year for Vong was 1993, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vong is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vong in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 702 people with the name Vong, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,164 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 Vong 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 Vong?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vong leans strongly male. 579 people counted with this name were male (81.3%), compared with 133 female bearers (18.7%). 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 Vong?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.1%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) 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 Vong most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Vong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (689 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 Vong in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vong a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vong 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 Vong still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vong 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 Vong 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 have Vong as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.