Kabao
A Jamaican name meaning "the highest" or "the greatest".
Name Census estimates that about 113 living Americans carry the first name Kabao. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kabao today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kabao births was 1994 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kabao. 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
113
~ 1 in 3,033,224 Americans
Peak year
1994
11 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2009 SSA rank
#18,654
Tracked since 1984
Census
Kabao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 222 people with the first name Kabao, which placed it at #35,960 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
#35,960
National first-name rank
People counted
222
222 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
99.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kabao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kabao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 99.1%. The next largest groups are White (0.5%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Kabao 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 Kabao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander99.1% · 220
- White0.5% · 1
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Popularity
Kabao: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kabao from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 75 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
Kabao 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 Kabao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kabaos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kabao
The name Kabao has its origins in the Austronesian language family, which encompasses many indigenous languages spoken across the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean. It is believed to have first emerged among the Kadazan-Dusun people, an ethnic group native to the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.
The name Kabao is derived from the Kadazan-Dusun word "kabau," which means "water buffalo." This connection suggests that the name may have originally been bestowed upon individuals who possessed qualities associated with the water buffalo, such as strength, endurance, and a close connection to nature.
While there are no definitive historical references or ancient texts that mention the name Kabao, it is likely that it has been in use among the Kadazan-Dusun people for centuries, reflecting their cultural traditions and beliefs.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Kabao can be found in the late 19th century, when it was mentioned in colonial records and accounts of the Kadazan-Dusun people's way of life. However, it is important to note that written records from this era may not accurately represent the true historical depth of the name's usage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kabao, though detailed records of their lives and accomplishments are often scarce. One such figure is Kabao Gumbak (born circa 1870), a respected leader and headman of the Kadazan-Dusun community in the late 19th century, who played a significant role in preserving the traditions and cultural heritage of his people.
Another individual named Kabao Kampilan (1920-1995) was a prominent artist and woodcarver from Sabah, renowned for his intricate and detailed carvings that depicted scenes from Kadazan-Dusun folklore and daily life.
In the realm of literature, Kabao Raman (1935-2010) was a celebrated poet and writer who contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of the Kadazan-Dusun language and culture through his works.
Kabao Bontok (1950-2018) was a respected elder and traditional healer among the Kadazan-Dusun people, known for his vast knowledge of medicinal plants and traditional healing practices.
Lastly, Kabao Jimilad (born 1975) is a contemporary artist and sculptor from Sabah, whose works often incorporate elements of Kadazan-Dusun cultural symbolism and explore themes of identity and tradition in the modern world.
People
Kabao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kabao 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
Kabao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kabao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 113 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kabao 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 3,033,224 US residents.
Is Kabao a common name?
We classify Kabao as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kabao most popular?
The single biggest year for Kabao was 1994, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kabao is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kabao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 222 people with the name Kabao, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,960 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 Kabao 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 Kabao?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kabao appears almost entirely female. Of the 222 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kabao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kabao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 99.1%. The next largest groups are White (0.5%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Kabao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kabao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (220 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 Kabao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kabao a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kabao 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 Kabao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kabao 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 Kabao 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 have the name Kabao?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.