Given name & surname · also Korean
Son
Son is a surname from Korean, ultimately from Khmer. It is used in English and Tagalog.
Original Korean손
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Son comes from Korean, and ultimately from Khmer.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In English usage, Son as a surname developed from សឺន. In English usage, Son as a surname developed from ស៊ន.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1884. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Son through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,066
- 1,061 boys · 5 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 41 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 2019. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 41 in 1982. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 43,275 as a first name in 2020; 15,288 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.
Son’s family of names
In Swedish usage, Son has a later derivative in Sonninen. In Greek usage, Son is a Roman-alphabet rendering of Σον. In Japanese usage, Son is a Roman-alphabet rendering of 尊.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Son has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Khmer roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Son
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Son, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sok
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78% boys · 22% girls
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“moon”
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“a victorious successor”
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“one having faith and trust”
89% boys · 11% girls
Mong
Mong is a surname from Norwegian, ultimately from Khmer.
84% boys · 16% girls
Chung
Chung is a surname from Korean, ultimately from Chinese. It is used in English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Indonesian.
95% boys · 5% girls
Duong
Duong is a surname from Vietnamese, ultimately from Khmer. It is used in English, French, and Czech.
>99% boys
Bang
Bang is a surname from Korean. It is used in Danish and Tagalog.
>99% boys