The Kwok surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,458 people carried this name — #6,257 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 54,100 people counted. That is up 17% from 4,652 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Kwok surname

From Cantonese 郭 (gwok³).

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

In Poland’s population register

46 people named Kwok have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 62 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 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 16
Opole 13
West Pomeranian 12
Silesian 3
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 Switzerland’s population statistics

27 people named Kwok live in Switzerland.

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

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

Where they live today

Zurich 20
Bern 4
Geneva 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

69 people named Kwok are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 46
Finland (2026) 23

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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Kwok in American newspapers,
1890–1912.

Newspaper page from The Morning Call carrying the name Kwok
The Morning Call 1890-06-10
Newspaper page from The San Francisco Call carrying the name Kwok
The San Francisco Call 1901-04-24
Newspaper page from The Alaska Citizen carrying the name Kwok
The Alaska Citizen 1912-09-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,116 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kwok in Australian newspapers,
1900s–1990s.

153 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kwok. The most, 30, date from the 1950s. 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 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 51
ACT (Canberra) 41
Queensland 15
Victoria 15
South Australia 7
Tasmania 5
Western Australia 5

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

Who carried it

People named Kwok,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Kwok Tak-Seng 1911–1990 · businessperson
  • Lily Kwok 1918–2007 · businessperson
  • Lily Kwok 1918–2007 · businessperson
  • Philip Kwok 1944–2011 · writer
  • Philip Kwok 1944–2011 · writer

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

In the public record

People named Kwok,
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 States73 records

73 records of the Kwok name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 59
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 7
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jim Kwok

    Born 1922. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; cook from New York County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1985, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Rosa Y. Kwok

    Born 1900 in Peiping, China. Entered the United States at San Francisco in 1949. Listed in the U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
  3. An Oregon State Board of Health certificate of death, 1910
    Example: U.S. death certificate, 1910
    Death record Jung W. Kwok

    Died 1941 in Manhattan, New York, aged 56.

    NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data)

Showing 3 of 73 records for Kwok 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) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0). 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); Certificate of death, Oregon State Board of Health, 1910, Oregon State Archives (public domain).

Canada20 records

20 records of the Kwok name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 12
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 5
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Wing Lam Kwok

    Buried in 1991 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 65.

    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 Kenneth Chi Ming Kwok

    Died 1996, aged 58; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Sha Hong Kwok

    Buried in 1978 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

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

Showing 3 of 20 records for Kwok 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. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the Kwok name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Cheuk Man Kwok

    Died 2000, aged 64; buried at Belfast Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record May Get Kwok

    Died 1961, aged 74; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Moon Cheuck Kwok

    Died 1950, aged 79; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France3 records

3 records of the Kwok 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 Shui Tim Kwok

    Born 1957 in A Hong Kong (Hong Kong); died 1993 in Paris.

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

    Born 1933 in China; died 1996 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 Wan Fat Kwok

    Born 1947 in China; died 1993 in Cayenne (Guyane).

    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).

Australia2 records

2 records of the Kwok name in Australia Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ying Man Kwok

    Retired of Balwyn, Victoria; died 2001.

    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 Yin Kwok

    Retired of Wheelers Hill, Victoria; died 2001.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kwok.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kwok 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.

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