The Tong surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,196 people carried this name — #2,730 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 22,400 people counted. That is up 22% from 10,809 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Tong surname
For the surname: Borrowed from Cantonese 湯／汤 (tong1), Cantonese 唐 (tong4), Mandarin 佟 (Tóng), Mandarin 童 (Tóng), etc.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Tong» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 112 people named Tong.
Most of them — 96 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 11 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
110 people named Tong live in Switzerland.
They live in 11 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 29 people named Tong 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 Liège.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 25 people named Tong 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 the Nordic population registers
131 people named Tong 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
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
Tong in American newspapers,
1897–1923.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 179,837 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Tong,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Tong Baoxuan d. 1919 -
Tong Yangxing d. 1632 · military personnel
-
William Tong d. 1389 · politician
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Tong Yangjia d. 1648 · politician
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Tong Guowei d. 1719 · politician
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Tong Guonai d. 1656
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Tong.
- Tonda 159 · U.S. census
- Tondini 107 · U.S. census
- Tondre 313 · U.S. census
- Tonelli 1,041 · U.S. census
- Tonello 202 · U.S. census
- Tonetti 221 · U.S. census
- Toni 277 · U.S. census
- Tonini 419 · U.S. census
- Toniolo 141 · U.S. census
- Tonna 180 · U.S. census
- Tonner 410 · U.S. census
- Tonon 147 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Tong 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.