Kaemon
A Japanese masculine name meaning "outstanding, eminent" or "blessed services".
Name Census estimates that about 332 living Americans carry the first name Kaemon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kaemon today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaemon births was 2007 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaemon. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kaemon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
332
~ 1 in 1,032,393 Americans
Peak year
2007
27 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,326
Tracked since 1997
Census
Kaemon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 280 people with the first name Kaemon, which placed it at #30,870 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
#30,870
National first-name rank
People counted
280
280 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
31.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaemon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaemon is White at 31.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (26.1%) and Black (25.4%). 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 Kaemon 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 Kaemon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White31.8% · 89
- Two or more races26.1% · 73
- Black or African American25.4% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 4
Popularity
Kaemon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaemon from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 176 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaemon 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 Kaemon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaemons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaemon
The name Kaemon has its origins in Japanese culture, tracing back to the Edo period (1603-1868). It is a masculine name composed of two kanji characters: "kae" meaning "changing" or "alternating," and "mon" meaning "gate" or "door." The combination suggests the notion of passing through different stages or transitions in life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaemon can be found in the historical records of the Tokugawa shogunate, where it was used by samurai warriors and prominent families during the 17th and 18th centuries. The name gained popularity among the warrior class, symbolizing the idea of overcoming challenges and moving forward through life's metaphorical gates.
Kaemon does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, but its components "kae" and "mon" have been used in various literary works and philosophical teachings, reflecting the cyclical nature of life and the importance of embracing change.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kaemon. One of the earliest recorded examples is Kaemon Tsuruoka (1675-1745), a renowned poet and calligrapher during the Edo period, known for his contributions to the development of the haiku form.
Another prominent figure was Kaemon Fukushima (1810-1868), a samurai and military strategist who played a significant role in the Bakumatsu period, which marked the transition from the Edo shogunate to the Meiji Restoration.
In the 19th century, Kaemon Yamamoto (1829-1892) was a influential entrepreneur and industrialist, credited with establishing one of Japan's first modern textile factories and contributing to the country's economic modernization.
Moving into the 20th century, Kaemon Nagatsuka (1888-1979) was a renowned painter and printmaker, known for his innovative woodblock prints that blended traditional Japanese techniques with modern Western influences.
More recently, Kaemon Sakurai (1922-2008) was a celebrated Kyogen actor and performer, recognized as a Living National Treasure of Japan for his mastery of the traditional comic theater art form.
These individuals, spanning different eras and fields, exemplify the diverse interpretations and representations of the name Kaemon throughout history, reflecting the idea of change, transition, and personal growth.
People
Kaemon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaemon 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
Kaemon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaemon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaemon 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 1,032,393 US residents.
Is Kaemon a common name?
We classify Kaemon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 336 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaemon most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaemon was 2007, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaemon is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaemon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 280 people with the name Kaemon, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,870 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 Kaemon 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 Kaemon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaemon leans strongly male. 283 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 4 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Kaemon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaemon is White at 31.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (26.1%) and Black (25.4%). 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 Kaemon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaemon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 31.8% (89 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 Kaemon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaemon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaemon 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 Kaemon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaemon 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 Kaemon 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 common is the name Kaemon?
See how many Americans are named Kaemon on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.