Kaeo
Of Hawaiian origin meaning "the all-present one".
Name Census estimates that about 353 living Americans carry the first name Kaeo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kaeo today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaeo births was 2014 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaeo. 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
353
~ 1 in 970,975 Americans
Peak year
2014
19 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,992
Tracked since 1979
Census
Kaeo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 288 people with the first name Kaeo, which placed it at #30,313 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
#30,313
National first-name rank
People counted
288
288 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Two or more races
35.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaeo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaeo is Two or More Races at 35.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.4%) and Hispanic (20.1%). 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 Kaeo 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 Kaeo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Two or more races35.1% · 101
- Asian and Pacific Islander34.4% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino20.1% · 58
- Black or African American5.9% · 17
- White4.2% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Kaeo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaeo from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 145 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kaeo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaeo 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 Kaeo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaeos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaeo
The name Kaeo originates from the Hawaiian language and culture. It is a unisex name that has been used for both boys and girls. The name is believed to have derived from the Hawaiian words "ka" meaning "the" and "eo" meaning "gull" or "seagull." Therefore, the name Kaeo can be interpreted as "the seagull" or "the gull."
The Hawaiian islands have a rich history and culture that dates back to the earliest Polynesian settlers who arrived around the 4th century AD. The name Kaeo was likely in use during this early period of Hawaiian history, as it is rooted in the indigenous language of the islands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaeo can be found in the Hawaiian oral traditions and legends passed down through generations. These stories often featured characters with traditional Hawaiian names, including Kaeo.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kaeo. One such person was Kaeo Mokumaia (1854-1936), a Hawaiian historian and author who wrote extensively about the history and culture of the Hawaiian islands. Another notable Kaeo was Kaeo Woolford (1888-1972), a Hawaiian musician and songwriter who composed many traditional Hawaiian songs.
In the 19th century, Kaeo Wahine (1835-1898) was a prominent Hawaiian chieftess and landowner. She played a significant role in preserving Hawaiian culture and traditions during the period of Western influence and colonization.
The name Kaeo also appears in Hawaiian mythology and folklore. For example, in the legend of Maui, the Hawaiian demi-god, there is a character named Kaeo who assists Maui in his adventures and quests.
Another notable figure with the name Kaeo was Kaeo Ramos (1903-1980), a Hawaiian singer and entertainer who was part of the popular musical group known as the Hawaiian Serenaders. He helped to popularize traditional Hawaiian music and dance during the mid-20th century.
While the name Kaeo has its roots in ancient Hawaiian culture, it has continued to be used and appreciated by Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians alike in modern times, serving as a connection to the rich heritage and traditions of the Hawaiian islands.
People
Kaeo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaeo 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
Kaeo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaeo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 353 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaeo 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 970,975 US residents.
Is Kaeo a common name?
We classify Kaeo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 357 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaeo most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaeo was 2014, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaeo is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaeo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 288 people with the name Kaeo, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,313 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 Kaeo 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 Kaeo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaeo leans strongly male. 264 people counted with this name were male (96.0%), compared with 11 female bearers (4.0%). 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 Kaeo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaeo is Two or More Races at 35.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.4%) and Hispanic (20.1%). 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 Kaeo most often in the Census?
Two or More Races is the largest reported group for people named Kaeo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.1% (101 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 Kaeo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaeo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaeo 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 Kaeo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaeo 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 Kaeo 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 Kaeo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.