Given name & surname
Kang
“a healthy man”
Kang is used as a given name and a surname. One Korean interpretation is “a healthy man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Korean interpretation is “a healthy man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Korean.
How it developed
From Korean ^강(姜), from Mandarin ^康, from Hokkien 江 (Kang).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1980. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kang through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 152
- 44 boys · 108 girls
- Most popular year
- 1983
- 23 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2012. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 2000. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,023 as a first name in 2020; 34,834 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kang’s family of names
In English usage, Kang as a surname has a related form in KANGABAM. In English usage, Kang as a surname has a related form in Kangabam surname of Meitei origin. In English usage, Kang as a surname has a related form in Kangjam.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Kang
- Chen KangChinese badminton playerborn 1965
- Feng KangChinese mathematician (1920-1993)
- Qi KangTang Dynasty chancellor740–804
Characters named Kang: Meng Kang (Water Margin character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kang, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jung
“a righteous man”
50% boys · 50% girls
Anh
“one who offers safety and peace”
34% boys · 66% girls
Yun
“governor, official”
25% boys · 75% girls
Soo
“having an excellent, long life”
9% boys · 91% girls
Joo
Joo is a surname from Korean.
33% boys · 67% girls
Toki
“one who grasps opportunity; hopeful” · “resembling a rabbit”
48% boys · 52% girls
Jang
Jang is a surname from Korean, ultimately from Chinese.
53% boys · 47% girls
Bae
Bae is a surname from Korean.
15% boys · 85% girls