Wong Last Name Origin

Michelle Wilson - October 7, 2022

Family names, better known as last names, are much more than a series of letters, often representing a significant cultural heritage. As we look through history, these names frequently refer to a person’s tribe, community, or lineage.

Today, these same last names symbolize strong family ties and connections to people around the globe. For this reason, many continue to recognize the value of learning the origins of their last name.

If this is the first step in your search, you’re in the right place. This article will review some of the background and statistics for the last name Wong.

Wong Last Name Definition

Wong has various Chinese surnames, each of which differs slightly in translation, although many experts believe its first uses were as far back as the Song dynasty. For context, the Song dynasty was an imperial dynasty in China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279.

Despite being the most common reference, many disagree on the true definition of “Wong.” Scholars liken the difference to the variations in Chinese dialect, which impact how people use the name and how it is pronounced. One common definition is “Wide,” a variant of Wang, meaning a dweller in or by a field or meadow.

Some related last names include Bong, Hwang, Ng, Oi, Wan, Wang, Wee, Weng, Woon and Yung.

Where Does The Last Name Wong Originate?

Online data suggests that the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian are where most of the Wongs who emigrated from China came from in the last four centuries. Despite higher levels of immigration, the last name Wong is still commonly found in Hong Kong and much of the Commonwealth, with immigrants moving to parts of Europe, Canada, the United States and Australia.

In some cases, Wong also has roots as an English surname, derived from “Geong,” the old English word for young. It is worth noting “Wong” is seen less frequently than Young when comparing the same origin.

Wong Last Name Popularity

So, how often can the last name Wong be found? According to studies, Wong ranks as the 691st most popular surname in the world. With 1 in 9,235 persons using Wong as their last name. Of those with the last name Wong, 63 percent identified as Asian, with 48 percent living in Southeast Asia and 37 percent in Malayo-Arabic Southeast Asia. To this day, the last name Wong is most common in the continent of Asia.

French Polynesia is the country where most individuals with the last name Wong live. Here, 0.17 percent of the population has Wong as a last name. In contrast, Malaysia has 288,771 people with the last name Wong, the equivalent of 1 in 102. Of those residing in Malaysia, 30% reside in the state of Selangor, 17% in Johor and 10% in Sabah. Today, you can find the Wong surname in over 180 countries.

Between 1880 and 2014, the number of people with the last name Wong increased. According to online records, the increase was over 17,000 in the United States and over 715,000 in England.

Wong By The Stats

In doing a deeper dive into public data records, we uncovered a few additional stats about the Wongs.

• In Russia, almost 50% of people with the Wong surnames are Orthodox Christians.
• In the United States, individuals with the last name Wong are 21.4% more likely than the general population to be with the Democratic Party, with 74.63% of them doing so.
• The top two reported jobs for men and women in Canada were laborer and cook. For those with the last name Wong, this translated to 27% of Wong women being cooks and 28% of Wong males being labourers. It is also worth noting that “laborer” and “barber” were the two least popular careers for people with the name Wong across the United States.
• When it comes to money, those with the last name Wong make significantly varying amounts of money depending on their nation. Experts estimate Wongs make €18,930 annually, which is 36.96% less than the national average in Italy.

Famous Faces With the Wong Last Name

There are many well-known Wongs across the globe. Perhaps, you even recognize a few of the ones listed below.

Jadyn Wong

Jadyn Wong is a Canadian actress most well-known for her role as Happy Quinn on the CBS television series Scorpion. However, her professional debut occurred in the Golden Globe-nominated miniseries Broken Trail in 2006. Other notable films include “Deserted Cities” released in 2014, Client Seduction and the television series Lost Girl.

Benedict Wong

Benedict Wong is a British actor from Manchester (United Kingdom). With varying roles, he is perhaps most well-known for his performances as Kublai Khan in the Netflix series Marco Polo (2014–2016), Bruce Ng in the film The Martian (2015), and Wong in the Marvel series Doctor Strange, where he plays the new Sorcerer Supreme. Wong was born to immigrants from Hong Kong who had first settled in England and then journeyed through Ireland. He was raised in Eccles and went to Salford City College, where he studied performing arts for two years.

Anna May Wong

Many recognize Anna May Wong as the first Chinese American actress in Hollywood. Throughout her career, Anna May made appearances in over sixty films. Anna May also took a role in one of the earliest Technicolor movies in addition to her performances in silent films, television, and the theatre. She is widely respected, and her legacy still has an impact on performers all over the world.

While working on American films, Wong took several roles in traditional Asian parts. Wong resisted the request from the Dangerous to Know director to adopt Japanese mannerisms when portraying a Chinese character. Anna May eventually agreed to play another clichéd character in Daughter of the Dragon after being promised a role in a Josef von Sternberg production. The actress later co-starred with her friend Marlene Dietrich in one of her most well-known movies, Shanghai Express.

Kolten Kaha Wong

Kolten Kaha Wong is a popular baseball player, playing in the second baseman position for the Milwaukee Brewers in Major League Baseball (MLB). Kolten was born on October 10, 1990, and debuted in the MLB in 2013. He became one of the best-paid players in 2019, with a five-year contract worth $25.5 million playing for the St. Louis Cardinals ending in 2021. Now a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Kolten Kaha has a contract for $18 million for two years, which he manages in tandem with several Instagram endorsements.

Willie “Woo Woo” Wong

Willie Wong was a United States basketball player born and raised in Chinatown, San Francisco. His Chinese namesake was Willie Wong. Although he recently passed away in 2005, Wong is widely regarded as one of the best Chinese American basketball players of the 1940s despite being only 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) tall. Bob Brachman, a local sportswriter for the San Francisco Examiner, gave him the nickname “Woo Woo” Wong because supporters would yell it when he scored.

Conclusion

By understanding the origins of the Wong last name, we hope you are one step closer to understanding your past. From basketball players to well-known film stars, there is no shortage of history in the Wong family name.