How common is the surname Han?

29,847 people in the United States had the surname Han in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,344 Americans. It ranked 1,182nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Han?

Han Duck-soo, Acting President of South Korea (2024; 2025), Prime Minister of South Korea (2006; 2007–20, followed by Jenny Han.

Where is the surname Han most common?

Wikidata records people named Han in the United States, South Korea and Eastern Han.

Is the surname Han getting more or less common?

More common. 20,318 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 29,847 in 2010, up 47%.

Is Han also a first name?

Yes. Han is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Han

A surname, carried by 29,847 people in the United States.

Pronounced /hɑn/ 1 syllable Soundex H500 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Han is more common than 99.3% of them.

Origin

An early romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 韓 /韩 (Hán), an ancient Chinese placename.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 29,847 people named Han in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 10,344 Americans. That is up 47% since 2000, when the Census counted 20,318.

#1,182

rank among US surnames

29,847

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+46.9%

change since 2000 (was #1,617)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,173	Goldstein	29,938	10,313
#1,174	England	29,926	10,317
#1,175	Pereira	29,898	10,327
#1,176	Ly	29,891	10,329
#1,177	Joyner	29,884	10,331
#1,178	Richter	29,880	10,333
#1,179	Farris	29,877	10,334

Who is named Han

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

93% of people named Han identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 4.2% as white (not Hispanic) and 1.7% as two or more races.

Asian and Pacific Islander 93%
White (not Hispanic) 4.2%
Two or more races 1.7%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 0.8%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.1%

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Hans

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Han Duck-soo
Acting President of South Korea (2024; 2025), Prime Minister of South Korea (2006; 2007–20
Jenny Han
American writer (born 1980)
Han Xuan
3rd century Eastern Han dynasty official and warlord, 151–209
Kevin Han
Badminton player, born 1972

Notable Hans come mostly from the United States (2), South Korea (1) and Eastern Han (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Hahn

Surnames that sound like Han

Han has the Soundex code H500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H500.

Questions

Where does the surname Han come from?: An early romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 韓 /韩 (Hán), an ancient Chinese placename.
How common is the surname Han?: 29,847 people in the United States had the surname Han in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,344 Americans. It ranked 1,182nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Han?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Han identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 4.2% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Han?: Han Duck-soo, Acting President of South Korea (2024; 2025), Prime Minister of South Korea (2006; 2007–20, followed by Jenny Han.
Where is the surname Han most common?: Wikidata records people named Han in the United States, South Korea and Eastern Han.
How do you pronounce Han?: Han is /hɑn/, one syllable.
Is the surname Han getting more or less common?: More common. 20,318 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 29,847 in 2010, up 47%.
What are other spellings of Han?: Hahn.
Is Han also a first name?: Yes. Han is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.