Explore the Family Name Song
The meaning of Song
1. Korean: written 송, in Chinese characters 宋, denoting the Song kingdom. There are actually two Chinese characters for this surname, covering sixteen clans. The smaller clan is the only clan to use another one of the two Chinese characters, and it has only one or two households. The remaining clans all descend from a common ancestor, Song Chu-ŭn (宋 株殷), who seems to have migrated from Tang China to Korea sometime during the Shilla period. Sixty percent of the Songs live in southern Korea. 2. Korean (Sŏng): written 성, in Chinese characters 成, meaning ‘success’. There are actually two Chinese characters for the surname Sŏng, but one of them is registered for just a single household. Only the common Sŏng clan, the Ch’angnyŏng clan, is treated here. This was founded by Sŏng In-bo (成 仁輔) just prior to the establishment of the Koryŏ kingdom in 918. According to legend, Sŏng In-bo died in Seoul. His son set out to transport his father’s body back to Ch’angnyŏng, but, the weather being poor, he decided to stop for the night and finish the journey in the morning. When he awoke, he discovered that his father’s body was missing. Upon investigation, he found that a tiger had dragged the body to a secluded grave site in the mountains near Ch’angnyŏng. It was there that the son buried his father and established his home. Many of the members of the Sŏng clan today live in the Ch’angnyŏng area of Kyŏngsang province. Compare Sung 5. 3. Chinese: Mandarin form and Cantonese variant of the surname 宋: (i) from Song (宋), the name of a state (located in Shangqiu in Henan province) granted to Wei Ziqi by King Wu of Zhou (c.1087–1043 BC). After the state was annexed by the state of Qi (located mainly in present-day Shandong province) in 286 BC, some descendants of the royal family from the state adopted 宋, the name of the state, as their surname. (ii) said to be traced back to the personal name Song (宋), personal name of a prince in the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). 4. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 松, meaning ‘pine tree’ in Chinese: It was said that Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC), the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), once took shelter from the rain under a giant pine tree on his way back to the palace after a ceremony. He later honored the tree and the local residents nearby adopted Song (松) as a surname. 5. Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 桑, see Sang 4. 6. Chinese: Hakka form of the surname 常, see Chang 1. 7. Southeast Asian (Hmong): variant of Xiong 2. 8. Cambodian: written សុង, of Chinese origin, but unexplained etymology (probably corresponding to one of the surnames above). The surname សុង also corresponds to the archaic Khmer word meaning ‘(to be) black as night’. Some characteristic forenames: Korean Young, Yong, Jae, Sung, Chang, Kyung, Chae, Jin, Chong, Jong, Joon, Jung, Myung, Byung, Chan, Chung, Dae, Min, Moon, Myong, Nam, Chul, Sook, Jae Hong.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Song in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Song has significantly increased from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Song was ranked as the 1962nd most popular surname, but by 2010, it had moved up to the 1415th position, marking a substantial increase of 27.88%. Likewise, the total count of people with the surname Song also rose from 16,856 in 2000 to 25,110 in 2010, a growth rate of 48.97%. The proportion per 100,000 people also experienced an uptick, escalating from 6.25 in 2000 to 8.51 in 2010, which signifies a 36.16% change.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,962 | #1,415 | 27.88% |
| Count | 16,856 | 25,110 | 48.97% |
| Proportion per 100k | 6.25 | 8.51 | 36.16% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Song
In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the vast majority of individuals with the surname Song identified themselves as Asian/Pacific Islander, accounting for 95.12% in 2000 and slightly increasing to 95.15% in 2010. The second-largest ethnic identity group is those identifying as White, albeit at a much lower percentage (2.08% in 2000, decreasing to 1.98% in 2010). Interestingly, there was a substantial rise in the number of Hispanics, from 0.43% in 2000 to 0.65% in 2010. Similarly, Blacks went from 0.39% to 0.45% within the same time frame. However, those who identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native decreased by 33.33%, standing at 0.06% in 2000 and falling to 0.04% in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 95.12% | 95.15% | 0.03% |
| White | 2.08% | 1.98% | -4.81% |
| Two or More Races | 1.91% | 1.74% | -8.9% |
| Hispanic | 0.43% | 0.65% | 51.16% |
| Black | 0.39% | 0.45% | 15.38% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.06% | 0.04% | -33.33% |
Song ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Song is Chinese, which comprises 47.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Korean (42.1%) and British & Irish (2.1%). Additional ancestries include Manchurian & Mongolian, French & German, Indonesian, Thai, Khmer & Myanma, Vietnamese, and Chinese Dai.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 47.9% |
| Korean | 42.1% |
| British & Irish | 2.1% |
| Other | 7.9% |
Possible origins of the surname Song
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Song have recent ancestry locations in South Korea and China.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Seoul, South Korea | 39.20% |
| Busan, South Korea | 27.20% |
| Daegu, South Korea | 20.30% |
| Jeollabuk Do, South Korea | 18.70% |
| Jeollanam Do, South Korea | 18.60% |
What Song haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Song is O-F8, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F8 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include N-L665 and O-CTS201, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Wang, Lu, Chang, Yu, He, Wu, Zhang, Jiang, Cheng, Xu.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Song surname are: A4, F1a1, M7b. These most commonly trace back to individuals of East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Han Chinese
Haplogroup O-Page23 has been found in several populations of the Han Chinese ethnic group. The ancestors of the Han, called the Huaxia, lived in the upriver basin of the Yellow River 5,000-6,000 years ago. As agricultural technology improved, the Huaxia spread east and south, and became the Han Chinese. Over the last 2,000 years, there have been three major migrations of the Han southward. The first of these migrations occurred during the Jin Dynasty from 317 to 420 CE, when nearly one million people moved south. A second migration occurred during the Tang Dynasty, after the An-Shi Rebellion, between 755 and 762 CE. The last migration occurred during the Southern Song Dynasty, from 1127 to 1297 CE, when nearly 5 million people migrated southward. The Pinghua, a branch of Han in which haplogroup O2a2b1a1 is particularly common, may be descendants of indigenous minority groups that adopted Han culture during one such major migration event.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to the builders of the Terracotta Army
Qin Shi Huang, who unified warring states to become the First Emperor of China and founded the Qin Dynasty, ruled the Chinese state of Qin from 247 BC to 210 BC. In addition to his political feats, his reign is known for the massive construction projects, including his mausoleum in the Shaanxi province of central China, which began construction in 246 BC. To aid him in the afterlife, 8,000 perfectly life-like soldiers were crafted out of molds and clay and placed at guard over his tomb: his own Terracotta Army.An estimated 700,000 workers were involved in the mausoleum construction alone, and in 2003, hundreds of skeletal remains were unearthed near the mausoleum. Curious about the ethnic origins of these men, a group of Chinese scientists decided to examine their maternal haplogroups. They found that some of these workers belonged to haplogroup A, and that the group had come from a variety of places across East Asia.
What do people with the surname Song have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Song" Surname 30.0%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Song" Surname 25.4%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Song" Surname 17.2%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Song" Surname 7.2%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Song?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Song are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition