Hong

Locally spelled 홍 in KR South Korea.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Attested across 16 languages in the etymology graph.

Hong is one spelling over 3 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 2 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• Vietnamese53%

  to dry (in the wind, sun, or near the fire)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

  Rose

  as a name·Vietnamese Personal Names (CIA Foreign Names Studies, ch. 37)

• English23%

  past of hang

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

  Chinese: “water, flood”.

  as a name·Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history]

• Chinese6.6%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Hong in Chinese.

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Hong, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• China
• East
• Chan
• Chen
• America

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Hong is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name24 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Malaysia, Australia, United Kingdom

  Languages: English, German

  Also written Höng, Hồng, Hoeng, Hông, Hòng

• Vietnamese given name17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Vietnam, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Hồng, Hông, Hóng, Hỏng, Hòng

• Chinese given name7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong

  Also written Hồng, Hóng, Ho-Ng, Hông

• a separate given name24 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, China, United Kingdom, Malaysia

  Also written Hồng, Hông, Hò̂ng, Hớng, Hońg

• Malay given name4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, United States

  Languages: Malay, Indonesian

  Also written Hồng, Hông

• a separate name9 spellings in the group

  Also written Hổng, Hôǹg, Hóng, Hò̂ng, Hồng

• Portuguese given name5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, China, Malaysia

  Also written Hồng, Họng, Hông, Hóng

91 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Hong is also recorded in 2 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• 2 ‘red’, the auspicious colour of weddings, also of the Communist party. 2 J ‘Wild swan’. 3 3 ‘Great’.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• Chinese Cantonese variant of Kang

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Li Hongb. 652Tang Dynasty crown prince
• Hiệp Hòab. 1847VNnot in their usual nameVietnamese emperor (1847–1883)
• Quan Hongchanb. 2007CNnot in their usual nameChinese diver (2007-)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

74 registers and reference works attest this spelling, across 36 countries.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Where does the name Hong come from?

2 ‘red’, the auspicious colour of weddings, also of the Communist party. 2 J ‘Wild swan’. 3 3 ‘Great’. Recorded by A concise dictionary of first names.

How do you pronounce Hong?

In English /hɑŋ/ (Wiktionary).

Is Hong a male or female name?

Hong is used for both men and women, depending on the country. National registers that list names by sex disagree: United States (Census Bureau, 2020): listed under both sexes; Norway (SSB): listed as female; Finland (DVV): listed under both sexes; Spain (INE): listed under both sexes. We don't publish a percentage split.

What does the name Hong mean?

In Vietnamese, to dry (in the wind, sun, or near the fire)

Which countries have the most people with the surname Hong?

In South Korea, the national register counted about 559 thousand people named 홍, more than in any other country we hold. After it come Malaysia, United States, Canada and Hong Kong; the country table on this page ranks them.

How common is the name Hong?

In the United States, the national register counted 31,670 people named Hong in 2010, about 1 in 11 thousand residents.

How common is Hong compared with other names?

In South Korea, Hong is the 20th most common surname of 14,133 surnames recorded there.