Kaala
Dark, black colored; also meaning lord or master.
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Kaala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaala today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaala births was 1991 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaala. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kaala. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
1991
9 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
1996 SSA rank
#11,106
Tracked since 1982
Census
Kaala in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 111 people with the first name Kaala, which placed it at #51,800 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
#51,800
National first-name rank
People counted
111
111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
28.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaala
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaala is White at 28.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.8%) and Two or More Races (22.5%). 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 Kaala 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 Kaala at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White28.8% · 32
- Black or African American28.8% · 32
- Two or more races22.5% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Popularity
Kaala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaala from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 33 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaala 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 Kaala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaala
The name Kaala has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent around the 2nd millennium BCE. The name Kaala is derived from the Sanskrit word "kāla," which means "time" or "death." It is believed to have been used as a name in ancient India to signify the cycle of life and death, or the transitory nature of existence.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Kaala can be found in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this ancient text, Kaala is referred to as the personification of Time, and is depicted as a powerful and destructive force that ultimately overcomes all living beings.
Throughout the centuries, the name Kaala has been associated with several notable historical figures. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Kaala, a Brahmin scholar and astronomer who lived in the 6th century CE in what is now modern-day India. He is known for his contributions to the field of astronomy and for his works on celestial phenomena.
Another famous bearer of the name Kaala was Kaala Bhairava, a fearsome manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva, who is often depicted as a terrifying and destructive force. Kaala Bhairava is revered by devotees as a protector and remover of obstacles, and is associated with the concepts of time, death, and transformation.
In the 16th century, there was a renowned Sufi poet and mystic named Kaala, who hailed from the region of modern-day Pakistan. His poetic works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, have been widely celebrated and continue to be studied and recited by scholars and devotees alike.
During the 18th century, Kaala Chand was a prominent ruler and military commander in the region of present-day Punjab, India. He is known for his bravery and military prowess, and is remembered for his role in defending his kingdom against invading forces.
In the 20th century, Kaala Kaarthikeyan was a celebrated Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. He was actively involved in the struggle against British colonial rule and was imprisoned multiple times for his activities.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Kaala. While its origins can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit and Hindu mythology, the name has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, and has been embraced by people across various regions and belief systems.
People
Kaala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaala as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaala 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 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Kaala a common name?
We classify Kaala as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 43 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaala most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaala was 1991, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaala is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaala in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 111 people with the name Kaala, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,800 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 Kaala 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 Kaala?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaala leans strongly female. 98 people counted with this name were female (85.2%), compared with 17 male bearers (14.8%). 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 Kaala?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaala is White at 28.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.8%) and Two or More Races (22.5%). 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 Kaala most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 28.8% (32 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 Kaala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaala in the SSA data are female. 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 Kaala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaala 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 Kaala 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 Americans are named Kaala?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.