Shu-fen is Taiwan’s most common name for 13th year in a row

Shu-fen is Taiwan’s most common name for 13th year in a row

2023-11-06

The latest update has come out about Taiwan’s most common names. For the 13th year in a row, the most common given name in the country is “Shu-fen.” Thirty-one thousand people share the ever-popular name. The second most common given name is “Chia-hao.” Meanwhile, over half the population share the top 10 most common surnames. But not all of those surnames are growing – we investigate the case of one surname whose numbers have fallen in the last few years…

Ask passersby on the street, and many people say they personally know a “Shu-fen” or “Chia-hao.” Statistics from the Ministry of the Interior show that 14,000 people in Taiwan are called Chia-hao, while 31,000 are called Shu-fen. Indeed, Shu-fen has been the No. 1 most popular given name in Taiwan for 13 years in a row.

Member of public
I think there are two Shu-fens in my company.

Meanwhile, more than half the country’s population – 12.33 million people – share Taiwan’s 10 most common surnames: Chen, Lin, Huang, Chang, Li, Wang, Wu, Liu, Tsai and Yang. Among them, the Huang clan has shrunk the most recently, with 23,000 fewer Huangs here today than there were in 2018.

Huang Jie
DPP Kaohsiung City councilor
Wow. I will be presenting this news, this service case, to our Huang family association, and asking them to put it in the agenda to discuss at the next meeting.

Huang Ching-ying
TPP Taipei City councilor
I suddenly realized I’m the only Huang in Taipei City council. I want to cheer on all my friends surnamed Huang. Let’s have lots of children in the service of our country, and have more and more Huangs.

The news was shocking for Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie and Taipei City Councilor Huang Ching-ying, as they urged their fellow Huangs to carry on the family line.

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