Huong
Feminine · “fragrance”
Huong is the Vietnamese Hương, fragrance, a name that also belongs to a river and a pilgrimage. In Vietnamese it is written with two letters English does not have, and even without them it keeps its sense of scent and incense.
How old is the name Huong?
Huong first appears in US birth records in 1976 — 49 years ago. The typical Huong alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 600 people named Huong are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Huong most popular?
Huong peaked in 1982, reaching #2024 nationally. See the whole 1982 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Hương to Huong
The story of Huong
The river that runs through Huế, the old imperial capital, is the Sông Hương, the Perfume River, named in the traditional explanation for the scent of flowers carried down into it from upstream. The Perfume Pagoda near Hanoi is one of the country's great pilgrimage sites. The name is written Hương, and both its u and its o carry a small hook called a horn; in Vietnamese these are not accents on u and o but separate letters with their own sounds. American records drop them, and Huong is what remains.
Meaning
fragrance, perfume, incense
Vietnamese hương means fragrance or perfume, and also the incense burned at altars. It is a common and much-loved girl's name.
How the name formed
- Hương
- Huong
Related forms: Hương
Pronouncing Huong
HOO-uhng
One syllable in Vietnamese, with a level tone, the vowel sliding from u to a short uh before the ng. Most Americans say two syllables, HOO-ong.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1976
- Most girls named
- 198251 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2024reached in 1982
- Change vs 2004
- −16.7%5 in 2011, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Huong in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Hương in Vietnamese — same name
Huongs among us
people named Huong are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Huong sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Its meaning is clear, lovely and easy to explain.
- It connects to famous places in Vietnam.
- It is short on paper.
- Most English speakers will not say it as a Vietnamese speaker does, and she will hear many versions.
- Without its two horned letters, the name loses part of its spelling in American records.
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What they receive
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Huong
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Huongs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Huong are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Huong in 2025?
- Huong is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Huong with classmates?
- Huong will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More H names
The most-given names starting with H, all years combined.
Helen#461 · Heather#1261 · Hannah#56 · Hazel#21 · Holly#416 · Hailey#104 · Haley#861 · Heidi#340
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Huong? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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