Kaan
A masculine Turkish name meaning "Lord" or "Ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 850 living Americans carry the first name Kaan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kaan today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaan births was 2018 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaan. 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
850
~ 1 in 403,240 Americans
Peak year
2018
39 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,723
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Kaan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 351 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kaan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaan 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 Kaan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Kaan, while Texas, Florida, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaan
The name Kaan has its origins in the Turkish language and culture, with roots dating back to the ancient Turkic peoples of Central Asia. The name is derived from the Old Turkic word "khan," which means "ruler" or "sovereign." This association with leadership and authority has given the name a strong and powerful connotation throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaan can be found in the ancient Orkhon inscriptions, a series of monumental stone inscriptions erected in the early 8th century CE by the Göktürk Khanate in present-day Mongolia. These inscriptions celebrate the deeds and achievements of the Göktürk khans, including the legendary Bilge Kaan, who ruled from 681 to 734 CE.
In Islamic history, the name Kaan is closely associated with the Mongol Empire and its imperial legacy. Genghis Khan, the legendary founder of the Mongol Empire, was also known as Chingis Kaan or Jenghiz Khan (c. 1162-1227 CE). His grandson, Kublai Khan (1215-1294 CE), established the Yuan Dynasty in China and became the first non-Chinese emperor to rule over the entire country.
Another notable figure bearing the name Kaan was Batu Khan (c. 1205-1255 CE), a Mongol ruler and the founder of the Golden Horde, a Mongol khanate that ruled over parts of modern-day Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. His descendants, known as the Khans of the Golden Horde, continued to wield significant power in the region for centuries.
In Indian history, the name Kaan is closely linked to the Mughal Empire, which ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th to the 19th century. One of the most famous Mughal rulers was Akbar the Great (1542-1605 CE), who was also known as Akbar Khan. His grandson, Shah Jahan (1592-1666 CE), commissioned the construction of the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra.
Beyond the historical figures, the name Kaan has also been borne by various literary and artistic figures, such as the Turkish novelist and playwright Kaan Müjdeci (1921-1994 CE) and the Turkish-German actor Kaan Urgancıoğlu (born 1981 CE).
People
Kaan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaan 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
Kaan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 850 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaan 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 403,240 US residents.
Is Kaan a common name?
We classify Kaan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 859 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaan was 2018, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaan is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kaan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaan 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.
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.