The Wang surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 109,883 people carried this name — #282 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,680 people counted. That is up 63% from 67,570 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Wang surname
From various romanizations of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 王 (Wáng) or 汪 (Wāng). As a Korean surname, from 왕 (wang), from the above.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Wang» (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 3,871 people named Wang 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 mapWhere 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
1,931 people named Wang live in Switzerland.
They live in 23 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 1,384 people named Wang 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 Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 399 people named Wang.
Most of them — 321 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 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 Poland’s population register
179 people named Wang have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 2,306 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
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
5,718 people named Wang are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. 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) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Wang in American newspapers,
1909–1947.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 46,301 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Wang,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Wang Zhaojun -4–18 · poet -
Wang Yun 137–192 · politician -
Wang Chang 150–259 · politician -
Wang Ping 201–248 · politician -
Wang Jun 206–286 · military leader
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 153 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Wang.
- Walz 7,220 · U.S. census
- Walzer 878 · U.S. census
- Wambach 779 · U.S. census
- Wambeke 243 · U.S. census
- Wander 944 · U.S. census
- Wane 302 · U.S. census
- Wanner 4,411 · U.S. census
- Wantz 685 · U.S. census
- Warchol 1,059 · U.S. census
- Ward 260,464 · U.S. census
- Wargnier 109 · U.S. census
- Warin 100 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Wang 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.