Yong

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Yong is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Korean given name143K records spelled Yong87 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in South Korea, United States, Malaysia, Canada

  Languages: Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese

  Also written 용주, 용우, 용재, 용, 용옥

• Spanish given name68K records spelled Yong7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, Argentina, Peru

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Ÿóñg, Yöng, Ýòng, Yŏng, Yõng

• a separate given name46K records spelled Yong8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, China, United Kingdom, Singapore

  Also written Yǒng, Yòng, Yöng, ํํyong, Yŏng

89 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Yong is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• ‘Brave’.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In och, cooked meal (for sacrifice to the dead), for banquet

  as a word·Schuessler, ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese (2007)

• In enm, Early in growth or life; young.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Chinese, nonstandard spelling of yōng

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In och, to bubble up, gush forth

  as a word·Schuessler, ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese (2007)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

EC INEC — Visualizador de Nombres y Apellidos, per-token query API (1900–2024) — 101 years between 1914–2024. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Choe Yeongb. 1316KRnot in their usual nameKorean general (1316 – 1388 )
• So Yong Kimb. 1968USSouth Korean-American filmmaker
• Daniel Zhangb. 1972CNnot in their usual nameChinese businessman
• Johnny Yong Boschb. 1976USAmerican actor
• Jonny Kimb. 1984USnot in their usual nameAmerican physician, Navy SEAL, and NASA astronaut
• Seo Youngb. 1984KRnot in their usual nameSouth Korean actress (1984-)
• Celine Songb. 1988KRnot in their usual nameSouth Korean-Canadian director and writer
• Yong Yeab. 1992USAmerican YouTuber and voice actor
• Yang Yung-Weib. 1997TWnot in their usual nameTaiwan judoka (1997-)
• You Youngb. 2004KRnot in their usual nameSouth Korean figure skater

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 448 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Yong?

We estimate roughly 9.9 thousand people bear Yong (counting its spellings and scripts) across 8 countries in our records.

In which country does Yong have the most bearers?

Yong is most frequently recorded in Malaysia, where it is most often spelled yong.

How common is Yong compared with other names?

In Malaysia, Yong is the 128th most common given name of 325,158 given names recorded there.

Is Yong a male or female name?

Yong is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Yong mean?

Recorded meaning: Obsolete spelling of young.