Fong
A surname with several possible origins, most often used as a Chinese family name today, but it also appears in older English surname speculation as a sound-alike element in other names.
The #2,018 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,259 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In modern use, Fong is widely borne as a romanization of Chinese surnames, especially Cantonese forms such as 方, 馮, or 鳳 depending on family and dialect. In older English surname writing, the sequence “fong” was sometimes analyzed as if it were an English element meaning “received,” but that explanation is not secure and reflects speculative 19th-century etymology rather than established usage. Because the name is shared across different naming traditions, its literal meaning depends on the specific family line and language background.
History
In the United States, Fong is strongly associated with Chinese-American families and is common as an anglicized spelling of several different Chinese surnames. The 19th-century excerpted source does not give a real entry for Fong itself; it only uses the string in a speculative breakdown of other surnames, so it is not reliable evidence for the surname’s origin. In genealogical research, the family’s immigration records and original Chinese characters are often needed to identify the exact source surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same spelling, Fong, can represent different Chinese surnames, so two families with this name may not be related in origin at all.
From the historical record
“tricky ; crafty. Wilie, from the same roots. Wilfong. Wil, well ; fong, received. Well-received. Wilfonger. Wil, well ; fong, received ; ere, an agent. One who is well received. Wilford. Wil, pleasant ; ford, a ford. A pleasant ford.”
— Family Names from the Irish, Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman and Scotch