# Yang (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/yang/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Chinese of various origins.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 106,033 |
| US rank (2010) | 290 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,912 people |
| Change since 2000 | +46% (72,627 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /jæŋ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From various atonal romanizations of various Chinese characters, including 楊 /杨 (yáng, “Willow”) and 洋 (a river name). Korean origins include 梁 and 楊.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Yang in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 1.0% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 0.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 97% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.0% |
| Two or more races | 1.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Yang in the United States, the People's Republic of China, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Malaysia.

## People named Yang

- Yang Shangkun, 4th President of the People's Republic of China (1907–1998)
- Andrew Yang, American entrepreneur, attorney and political candidate (born 1975)
- Gene Luen Yang, American graphic novelist
- Jerry Yang, American poker player
- William Yang, Australian swimmer
- Hudson Yang, American actor (b. 2003)
- Brian Yang, badminton player
- Peidong Yang, American chemist
- Yuan Yang, British-Chinese political, journalist
- Ken Yeang, architect

## Similar surnames

Yung, Yong, Ying, Yanke, Yanez, Yancey, Yanes, Yancy, Young, Yeung, Youngs, Younce.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.