Yang
Yang is a given name, and may refer to:An Yang, Chinese pair skater Bai Yang (actress) (1920–1996), Chinese actress Bai Yang, Chinese table tennis player Bai Yang (footballer), Chinese footballer Cao Yang, Chinese international football player Fan Yang (artist), Canadian bubble artist Fan Yang (cyclist), Chinese track cyclist Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, named Gao Yang Gao Yang, shot…
- Chinese
Meaning & Origin of Yang
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Yang is a given name, and may refer to:An Yang, Chinese pair skater Bai Yang (actress) (1920–1996), Chinese actress Bai Yang, Chinese table tennis player Bai Yang (footballer), Chinese footballer Cao Yang, Chinese international football player Fan Yang (artist), Canadian bubble artist Fan Yang (cyclist), Chinese track cyclist Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, named Gao Yang Gao Yang, shot…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Chinese
The Story of Yang
As a girl name
American parents first put Yang on the record books as a girl name in 1982, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1993, when 9 Yangs were born — ranking #8,720 that year. About 60% of every Yang on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. Yang last appeared in the published SSA data in 2012, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 47 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1980s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
American parents first put Yang on the record books as a boy name in 1981, with 9 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1990, when 21 Yangs were born — ranking #2,952 that year. About 32% of every Yang on record arrived during the 1990s, its defining decade. Yang last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 291 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1980s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Yang
Phonetically similar names — useful when Yang is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Yang
What does the name Yang mean?
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How popular is Yang in 2026?
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In which U.S. states is Yang most popular?
Is Yang a unisex name?
What names go well with Yang?
About the name Yang
Yang is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1981 and has accumulated 291 births in the dataset. Yang's peak popularity came in 1990 when it ranked #2,952. Use the chart and map above to compare Yang's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1990 →
- Names of the 1990s →
- Names starting with "Y" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.