Declining since 1990, #12,008 for boys today.
Popularity of Cheng since 1979
Babies named Cheng per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 | 9 |
| 1980s | 12 | 249 |
| 1990s | 26 | 259 |
| 2000s | 0 | 76 |
| 2010s | 0 | 24 |
| 2020s | 0 | 29 |
Meaning & origin
Cheng entered U.S. naming records in 1979, reflecting growing Chinese-American communities. The name reached its highest rank in 1990 but has since declined in usage. It is currently very rare, with only about 1 in 341,615 newborns given the name in 2025. The trajectory shows a steady fall since 1990, typical of names that are less frequently adopted outside their cultural context. No top states were recorded for Cheng, indicating its usage is spread thinly across the country.
Cheng is a common Chinese given name and surname, written as 成 in characters, meaning 'accomplish', 'succeed', or 'complete'. As a given name, it is often combined with other characters to form compound names. The name has been in use for centuries in Chinese-speaking communities, but as a standalone given name in the United States, it was first recorded in 1979, reflecting immigration and cultural exchange patterns.
Nicknames & variants
Variants: Cheng (surname), Zheng
Sibling names for Cheng
Names that share Cheng's style, for a brother or sister.
