The Kwan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,965 people carried this name — #3,966 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 32,900 people counted. That is up 13% from 7,906 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Kwan surname

From any of four Chinese surnames: 關／关 (guān), 官 (guān), 管 (guǎn), or 灌 (guàn).

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

29 people named Kwan live in Switzerland.

They live in 3 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.

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

Where they live today

Geneva 15
Zurich 11
Zug 3

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 the Nordic population registers

21 people named Kwan is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 21

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

Kwan in American newspapers,
1890–1902.

Newspaper page from The Midland Journal carrying the name Kwan
The Midland Journal 1890-05-30
Newspaper page from The Weiser Signal carrying the name Kwan
The Weiser Signal 1901-02-21
Newspaper page from The San Francisco Call carrying the name Kwan
The San Francisco Call 1902-09-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 15,156 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kwan in Australian newspapers,
1850s–2000s.

1,365 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kwan. The most, 239, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 401
New South Wales 335
Queensland 214
South Australia 63
ACT (Canberra) 49
Tasmania 44
Western Australia 40

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

Who carried it

People named Kwan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Kwan Man-ching 1896–1995 · screenwriter
  • Leonard Kwan 1931–2000 · guitarist
  • Elisabeth E. Kwan 1936–2021 · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kwan,
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 States221 records

221 records of the Kwan name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 190
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 16
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 7
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 4
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Tei Kwan

    Born 1907. Enlisted 1946, from Multnomah County, Oregon. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1960, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Min Ko Kwan

    Born 1912 in China. Registered as a foreign national in Washington, District Of Columbia, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Young Kwan

    Died 1925, aged 48; buried at Sacramento County, California.

    Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 221 records for Kwan in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada70 records

70 records of the Kwan name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 36
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 19
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 10
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 5
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Yu Yin Kwan

    Buried in 1995 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 80.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Chow King Kwan

    Died 1981, aged 48; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Dick Kwan

    Died 1958 in Truro, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 70 records for Kwan in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia12 records

12 records of the Kwan name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 7
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ching Kwan

    Fruiterer of Elsternwick, Victoria; died 1999.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Yip Sow Kwan

    Teacher of North Melbourne, Victoria; died 2001.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Po Wah Kwan

    Kitchen assistant of Windsor, Victoria; died 1984.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Kwan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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).

France3 records

3 records of the Kwan 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 Kim-Gaul Kwan

    Born 1900 in China; died 1991 in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande (Gironde).

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

    Born 1944 in Madagascar; died 1991 in Valenciennes (Nord).

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

    Born 1912 in China; died 1995 in Noisiel (Seine-et-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Kwan name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Siew Yuen Kwan

    Died 1961 in Overleden op Zee, aged 43.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Yee Kwan

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1888 in Hongkong.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kwan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kwan 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 Kwan volume
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