The Kwon surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,235 people carried this name — #2,721 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 22,300 people counted. That is up 41% from 9,405 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Kwon surname
From Chinese 關 /关 (guān), via various dialects.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kwon» (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 111 people named Kwon 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.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
51 people named Kwon live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 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
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
26 people named Kwon is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
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
Kwon in American newspapers,
1922.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
In print
Kwon in Australian newspapers,
1850s–2010s.
245 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kwon. The most, 39, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.8 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kwon.
Who carried it
People named Kwon,
with a public archive behind them.
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Gwon Dae-un 1612–1699 · politician -
Kwon Sang-ha 1641–1712 · politician -
Kwon Dongjin 1861–1947 · military personnel -
Tŏk-gyu Kwŏn 1890–1950 · linguist -
Kwon Ki-ok 1901–1988 · aviation pioneer
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Gwon Dae-un: 唐吉訶德的侍從, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 190 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Kwon,
in the records of 4 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 States30 records
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 18
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 6
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 5
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1
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Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Richard Y. S. KwonBorn 1926 in Hawaiian Islands. Enlisted 1945; machine shop worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1958, buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. burial record, 1864 Burial record Manuel KwonU.S. Army veteran of World War II. Born 1913, died 1997; buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s Alien registration Ngit P. KwonBorn 1885 in China. Registered as a foreign national in Maui County, Hawaii, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.
U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
Showing 3 of 30 records for Kwon 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) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
Canada3 records
- City of Calgary cemetery records 2
- Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
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Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Keum Nyon KwonBuried in 1984 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 71.
City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Mon Gong KwonDied 1936; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.
City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Yuen KwonBuried in 1967 at Chinese Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 74.
City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
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. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).
France2 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Young Mee KwonBorn 1969 in Kyeongbook (Corée du Sud); died 1992 in Toulon (Var).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Joo Yong KwonBorn 1971 in Pusan (Corée du Sud); died 1998 in Compreignac (Haute-Vienne).
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).
Australia1 record
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Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Louey Ting KwonGentleman of Balaclava, Victoria; died 1971.
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 Kwon.
- Kwaśniewski 723 · U.S. census
- Kwaśnik 550 · U.S. census
- Kwiatek 564 · U.S. census
- Kwiatkowski 6,377 · U.S. census
- Kwiecień 529 · U.S. census
- Kwok 5,458 · U.S. census
- Kwong 5,637 · U.S. census
- Ky 1,042 · U.S. census
- Kyle 18,721 · U.S. census
- La 6,655 · U.S. census
- Laas 299 · U.S. census
- Lab 411 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Kwon 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.