Bong (surname)
# Bong (surname)

Bong is a surname in various cultures.

## Origins

Bong may be a spelling of a number of Chinese surnames based on their pronunciation in different varieties of Chinese. They are listed below by their Mandarin Pinyin spelling:

* Huáng (黃, meaning "yellow"); spelled Bong based on the Hakka pronunciation in dialects spoken in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia
* Wáng (王, meaning "king"); spelled Bong based on the Hakka pronunciation in dialects spoken in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia
* Méng [zh] (蒙); spelled Bong based on the Hokkien pronunciation (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bông)

Bong is the Revised Romanization spelling of a Korean surname originally written using either of two hanja. These surnames are also spelled Pong in most other systems of romanising Korean (e.g. McCune–Reischauer, Yale, and North Korea's system), and are both used as Chinese surnames as well, pronounced Fèng in Mandarin.

* Batdeul Bong (奉; 받들 봉; meaning "to offer" or "to serve")
* Bongsae Bong (鳳; 봉새 봉; the name of a mythical bird)

Bong may also be a Belgian surname of unclear origin, a Swedish surname originating from the word bang meaning "noise", and a Tibetan clan name.

## Statistics

The 2000 South Korean census found 11,819 people in 3,629 households with the surnames spelled Bong in the Revised Romanization of Korean, divided among 11,492 people in 3,528 households for Batdeul Bong, and 327 people in 101 households for Bongsae Bong. Statistics compiled by Patrick Hanks on the basis of the 2011 United Kingdom census and the Census of Ireland 2011 found 53 people with the surname Bong on the island of Great Britain and one on the island of Ireland. In the 1881 United Kingdom census there were five bearers of the surname. The 2010 United States census found 1,208 people with the surname Bong, making it the 21,599th-most-common surname in the country. This represented an increase from 1,051 people (22,783rd-most-common) in the 2000 census. In the 2010 census, roughly 44% of the bearers of the surname identified as Asian (up from 36% in the 2000 census), and 50% as non-Hispanic white (down from 58% in the 2000 census).

## People

### Chinese surnames

* Bong Swan An (黄双安; 1931–2018), Chinese-born Indonesian entrepreneur
* Bong Kee Chok (黄紀作; 1937–2023), leader of the North Kalimantan Communist Party
* Diana Bong (黃湘琳; born 1985), Malaysian wushu athlete and coach

### Korean surnames

* Deposed Crown Princess Bong (純嬪奉氏; Sunbin Bongssi; fl. 1429–1436), concubine of Crown Prince Yi Hyang of Joseon
* Bong Chang-won (奉昶元; born 1938), South Korean wrestler
* Bong Joon-ho (奉俊昊; born 1969), South Korean film director and screenwriter
* Bong Man-dae (奉萬大; born 1970), South Korean film director
* Jung Bong (奉重根; Bong Jung-geun; born 1980), South Korean baseball player
* Bong Tae-gyu (奉太奎; born 1981), South Korean actor

### Other

People with the surname Bong other than those listed in the sections above include:

* Ngundeng Bong (c. 1830–1890), Nuer prophet from southern Sudan
* Richard Bong (fl. 1902–1906), German painter, plaintiff in US Supreme Court case Bong v. Campbell Art Co.
* Harry Bong (1905–1987), Swedish Navy officer
* Richard Bong (1920–1945), United States Army Air Forces major and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II
* Melanie Bong (born 1968), German jazz singer
* Josh Abercrombie (born 1984), American wrestler who used the ring name Billy Bong
* Frédéric Bong (born 1987), Cameroonian football defender in France
* Gaëtan Bong (born 1988), Cameroonian football defender in England
* Tobias Bong (born 1988), German canoeist
* Valentino Bong (born 1989), Malaysian squash player

## Fictional characters

* Doctor Bong, an American comic book character introduced in 1977
* Bong Dal-hee, the title character of the 2007 South Korean television series Surgeon Bong Dal-hee
