Are you a Nguyễn? You are not alone

 Photo courtesy of www.everydayviet.com

From Wire Reports

So just how common is the last name “Nguyễn”?

According to a recent report published by The World Geography, it ranks behind the other Asian names but well ahead names of Spanish and American descent.

More than 36 million people worldwide have the last name of Nguyễn, according to the report. About 40 percent of Viet Nam’s residents are Nguyễns, and it’s the seventh-most common surname in Australia and the 54^th-most common in France, according to the report.

In the United States, it is the 57^th-most common family name according to the 2000 Census, as well as the most common exclusively Asian surname.

The report listed Zhang and Li/Lee as the most common surnames worldwide, each named for more than 100 million people. Zhang is among the most common Chinese surnames used around 4,000 years ago, while Li/Lee both use the same Chinese character but Li is a widespread surname in China while Lee the second-most common South Korean surname, after Kim.

Wang, another popular Chinese family name that means “king” or “monarch,” is shared by more than 93 million people.

Other popular names include García, meaning “the young” and Gonzalez, two Spanish surnames each used by more than 10 million people; Hernandez, which means “son of Hernan,” a Spanish and Portuguese surname of more than 8 million people.

Smith, originating in England, now is used by more than 4 million people. Smirnov is the most common surname in Russia, used by more than 2.5 million people, and derived from an adjective meaning “quiet, gentle, still, meek.” Mueller meaning “miller” as a profession, is a German surname used by more than 1 million people.