2000
#5,199
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,173
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.29
Rare Last name
Hung
A Chinese surname meaning "flood" or "vast," or referring to a person from a place called Hung.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,599 Americans carry the last name Hung. That puts it at #4,580 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,860 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hung surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hung with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.6K
1 in 39,860
Census rank
#4,580
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,499 bearers of the surname Hung in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4580th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hung, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and White (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hung
The surname HUNG has its origins in China, where it is derived from the word "hong" meaning "vast" or "great." The name can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and was particularly prevalent in the southern regions of China, such as Guangdong and Fujian provinces.
In ancient Chinese records, the name HUNG appears in various forms, including "Hong," "Hung," and "Hóng." One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Shiji, a historical text written by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC, which mentions a person named Hong Gong.
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the HUNG surname gained prominence, with several notable individuals bearing the name. One such person was Hong Hao (1088-1155), a prominent Neo-Confucian philosopher and scholar who served as a high-ranking official in the imperial court.
The name HUNG also has a connection to various place names in China, such as Hongshan, a famous archaeological site in Liaoning Province dating back to the Neolithic period. Additionally, the city of Hong Kong, which means "Fragrant Harbor," is believed to be named after the HUNG surname or its variations.
Throughout history, there have been several famous individuals with the HUNG surname. One notable example is Hung Hsiu-ch'uan (1848-1900), a Chinese revolutionary and leader of the Boxer Rebellion, a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian movement in the late 19th century. Another prominent figure is Hung Wu (1328-1398), the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who was born with the surname Zhu but later adopted the surname HUNG to distance himself from his peasant roots.
Other notable individuals with the HUNG surname include:
1. Hung Chang (1823-1901), a prominent Chinese statesman and diplomat during the late Qing Dynasty.
2. Hung Tzu-ch'eng (1593-1665), a Chinese painter and calligrapher of the early Qing Dynasty.
3. Hung Jen-kan (1642-1703), a Chinese philosopher and Neo-Confucian scholar during the Qing Dynasty.
4. Hung Ying-ming (1592-1668), a Chinese writer and poet of the late Ming and early Qing periods.
5. Hung Hsiu-ch'uan (1814-1864), a Chinese religious leader and the founder of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a major rebellion against the Qing Dynasty in the 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hung
Among Census respondents with the surname Hung, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and White (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hung bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hung surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander88.3% · 6,619
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 410
- White3.0% · 224
- Two or more races2.8% · 207
- Black or African American0.4% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hung
Hung appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,932
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,137
+964 bearers (+15.6%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Up 267 places
2020
#4,580
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,499
+362 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 2.51
Rank movement Up 352 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,199 | 6,173 | 2.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,932 | 7,137 | 2.42 | +964 bearers (+15.6%) | Up 267 places |
| 2020 | #4,580 | 7,499 | 2.51 | +362 bearers (+5.1%) | Up 352 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hung surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,932 | #4,580 | 7.1% |
| Count | 7,137 | 7,499 | 5.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.42 | 2.51 | 3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hung bearers went from 7,137 to 7,499 (+5.1% change). The surname moved up 352 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,932 to #4,580.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hung
FAQ
Hung surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hung?
Name Census estimates that about 8,599 living Americans carry the surname Hung. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,860 residents.
How common is Hung?
Hung ranks #4,580 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,499 people with the surname Hung. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,599), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Hung.
Has Hung become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hung went from 7,137 recorded bearers to 7,499. That is an increase of 362 (+5.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,932 to #4,580.
What does the Census say about the background of Hung?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hung, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and White (3.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hung in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (6,619 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hung appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (88.3%), Hispanic (5.5%), White (3.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hung (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hung mean?
A Chinese surname meaning "flood" or "vast," or referring to a person from a place called Hung. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hung (2.51 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Hung?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.