Given name & surname
Yong
“one who is courageous”
Yong is used as a given name and a surname. One Korean interpretation is “one who is courageous.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Korean interpretation is “one who is courageous.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Korean.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1936. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Yong through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 425
- 301 boys · 124 girls
- Most popular year
- 1946
- 17 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 6 in 2006. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 13 in 1993. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 15,448 as a first name in 2020; 3,162 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.
Yong’s family of names
In English usage, Yong as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with Ryu. In English usage, Yong as a surname has a related form in Yon.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 19
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Yong
- Lee YongSouth Korean footballerborn 1986
- Yang Yung-weiTaiwan judoka (1997-)
- Liu YongSong dynasty poet (987–1053)
- Ying YongChinese politicianborn 1957
- Sima YongJin dynasty imperial prince (died 306)250–306
- Trần Thuận Tông11th emperor of the Trần Dynasty1378–1399
- Liu YongChinese badminton playerborn 1975
- Li YongDirector General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organizationborn 1951
- Yin YongMayor of Beijingborn 1969
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Yong, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Toki
“one who grasps opportunity; hopeful” · “resembling a rabbit”
48% boys · 52% girls
Van
“resembling a butterfly” · “God is gracious”
95% boys · 5% girls
Yoon
Yoon is a surname from Korean.
67% boys · 33% girls
Jung
“a righteous man”
50% boys · 50% girls
Chung
Chung is a surname from Korean, ultimately from Chinese. It is used in English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Indonesian.
95% boys · 5% girls
Hyun
“having great wisdom”
62% boys · 38% girls
Chong
Chong is a surname from Hakka, ultimately from Korean. It is used in English, Tagalog, and Indonesian.
60% boys · 40% girls
Pyon
Pyon is a surname from Korean.
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