The Yang surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 106,033 people carried this name — #290 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,780 people counted. That is up 46% from 72,627 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Yang surname
From various atonal romanizations of various Chinese characters, including 楊 /杨 (yáng, “Willow”) and 洋 (a river name). Korean origins include 梁 and 楊.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Yang» (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 1,567 people named Yang 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
781 people named Yang live in Switzerland.
They live in 18 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 650 people named Yang 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 432 people named Yang.
Most of them — 356 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 27 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
63 people named Yang have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 1,000 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 8 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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
1,493 people named Yang 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
Yang in American newspapers,
1904.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 64,622 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Yang,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Yang Yi 150–235 · politician -
Yang Xiu 175–219 · politician -
Yang Su 501–606 · military personnel -
Emperor Wen of Sui 541–604 · politician -
Emperor Yang of Sui 569–618 · poet
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 162 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Yang.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Yang 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.