The Kang surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 32,221 people carried this name — #1,084 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,160 people counted. That is up 37% from 23,565 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Kang surname

Borrowed from Korean 강(姜) (Gang), Mandarin 康 (Kāng) or Hokkien 江 (Kang).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kang» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 335 people named Kang live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 271
Buenos Aires Province 51
San Juan 13

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

167 people named Kang live in Switzerland.

They live in 11 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 62
Geneva 42
Vaud 15
Basel-Stadt 10
Fribourg 9
Bern 8
Solothurn 7
St. Gallen 5

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 46 people named Kang.

Most of them — 46 — were born outside France.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 46

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 43 people named Kang live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Limburg.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Limburg 14
Flemish Brabant 10
East Flanders 9
Brussels-Capital 5
Namur 5

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Poland’s population register

29 people named Kang have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 456 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lower Silesian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Lower Silesian 11
Masovian 4
Lubusz 3
Lesser Poland 3
Silesian 3
Greater Poland 3
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

137 people named Kang is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 137

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Kang in American newspapers,
1899–1905.

Newspaper page from The New Haven Union carrying the name Kang
The New Haven Union 1905-07-17
Newspaper page from The Willimantic Journal carrying the name Kang
The Willimantic Journal 1905-07-14
Newspaper page from New York Journal And Advertiser carrying the name Kang
New York Journal And Advertiser 1899-04-16

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 116 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kang in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

480 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kang. The most, 67, date from the 1900s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 111
ACT (Canberra) 97
Victoria 97
Queensland 70
South Australia 53
Western Australia 27
Tasmania 14
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kang.

Who carried it

People named Kang,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Kang Kyung-ok
    Kang Kyung-ok 1907–1999 · politician
  • Kang Gyeong-ae
    Kang Gyeong-ae 1907–1944 · writer
  • Kang Mun-bong
    Kang Mun-bong 1923–1988 · politician
  • Kang Shin-jae
    Kang Shin-jae 1924–2001 · writer
  • Kang Soo-youn
    Kang Soo-youn 1966–2022 · actor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Kang Kyung-ok: unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/); Kang Soo-youn: 박재환, CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 189 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kang,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States162 records

162 records of the Kang name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 120
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 17
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 12
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 8
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Peter S. M. Kang

    Born 1921 in Hawaiian Islands. Enlisted 1946; filer from Hawaiian Islands. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery, Kaneohe, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Fagey Kang

    Arrived at New York in 1891 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 23; servant. From Russia; bound for Boston.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Franklin K. S. Kang

    U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Born 1930, died 1999; buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 162 records for Kang in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

France9 records

9 records of the Kang name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Ngoan Sinh Kang

    Born 1921 in Laos; died 1994 in Clichy (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Insil Kang

    Born 1949 in Corée; died 1997 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Pich Kang

    Born 1934 in Cambodia; died 1999 in Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Kang in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Australia6 records

6 records of the Kang name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 3
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Andrew John Kheng Kang

    Database analyst of Glen Iris, Victoria; died 1991.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Ye Ah Kang

    Died 1904 in Weldborough, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record E. N. Kang

    Arrived in Victoria in 1923 aboard the Themistocles, aged 54.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Kang in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Kang name in Canada Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Pritam Kang

    Buried in 1987 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 1 of 3 records for Kang in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Kang name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Evert Paulus Kang

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1823 in Ameland.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kang.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kang is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Kang volume
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