Cosme
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "beauty, order, ornament".
Name Census estimates that about 1,019 living Americans carry the first name Cosme. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cosme today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cosme births was 2000 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cosme. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 336,363 Americans
Peak year
2000
25 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,130
Tracked since 1909
Census
Cosme in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,293 people with the first name Cosme, which placed it at #6,853 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,853
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,293 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
94.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cosme
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cosme is Hispanic at 94.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Cosme described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Cosme at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.2% · 2,160
- White2.6% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 53
- Black or African American0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Popularity
Cosme: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cosme from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 186 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cosme by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cosme during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cosmes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Arizona recorded the most babies named Cosme, while New York, Arizona, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 163 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cosme
The name Cosme is derived from the Greek name Kosmas, which means "order" or "ornament." It has its roots in the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the Classical period.
The earliest known use of the name Cosme can be traced back to the 4th century AD, when it was borne by Saint Cosmas, a Christian martyr who, along with his twin brother Damian, was renowned for his skills in medicine and healing. They were revered as the patron saints of physicians and pharmacists.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cosme gained popularity in parts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal. It was often associated with the cult of Saint Cosmas and was commonly given to children in the hope of invoking the saint's blessings and protection.
One of the earliest recorded individuals to bear the name Cosme was Cosme de' Medici (1389-1464), a powerful Italian banker and statesman from the influential Medici family of Florence. He played a crucial role in the Renaissance and was a renowned patron of the arts.
Another notable figure in history with the name Cosme was Cosme Bueno (1711-1798), a Spanish botanical explorer and naturalist known for his extensive travels and contributions to the study of plants in the Americas.
In the realm of literature, Cosme Pariente (1543-1591) was a Spanish playwright and poet who wrote several comedies and religious works during the Golden Age of Spanish literature.
The name Cosme also found its way into the world of art, with Cosme Tura (c. 1430-1495), an Italian Renaissance painter known for his religious works and portraiture.
Moving forward in time, Cosme Velho (1837-1897) was a Brazilian naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to the Amazon region and contributed significantly to the mapping and exploration of the area.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who have borne the name Cosme, demonstrating its enduring presence across various cultures, time periods, and fields of endeavor.
People
Cosme + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cosme as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cosme: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cosme?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,019 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cosme going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 336,363 US residents.
Is Cosme a common name?
We classify Cosme as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,361 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cosme most popular?
The single biggest year for Cosme was 2000, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cosme is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cosme in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,293 people with the name Cosme, or 0.76 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,853 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Cosme in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Cosme?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cosme leans strongly male. 2,251 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 44 female bearers (1.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Cosme?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cosme is Hispanic at 94.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Cosme most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Cosme in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (2,160 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Cosme in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cosme a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cosme in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Cosme still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cosme in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Cosme can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Cosme?
Want to know how many people share the name Cosme? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.