Kahn
A diminutive form of the Hebrew name Cohen, meaning "priest".
Name Census estimates that about 39 living Americans carry the first name Kahn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kahn today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kahn births was 1976 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kahn. 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 Kahn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
39
~ 1 in 8,788,573 Americans
Peak year
1976
7 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,497
Tracked since 1963
Popularity
Kahn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kahn from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Kahn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kahn 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 Kahn 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 Kahn
The name Kahn is believed to have originated from the Persian language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a variant spelling of the name Khan, which was a title used by the rulers and leaders of various nomadic groups and empires in Central Asia, particularly the Mongols and Turks.
The name Khan is derived from the ancient Turkic word "Khan" or "Xan," which means "leader" or "ruler." It was a title of honor and respect, and those who bore it were considered to be of noble or royal lineage. The name Kahn is thought to be a variation of this title, potentially influenced by the Arabic language and its speakers.
One of the earliest and most notable historical references to the name Kahn can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The name is mentioned in the form of "Qahhar," which is an attribute of Allah, meaning "The Subduer" or "The Conqueror." This connection may have contributed to the name's association with strength, power, and leadership.
In the 13th century, Genghis Khan (c. 1162-1227), the founder of the Mongol Empire, became one of the most famous bearers of the name Khan. His descendants and successors, such as Kublai Khan (1215-1294), also carried the name, further cementing its historical significance.
Another notable figure in history with the name Kahn was Shah Jahan (1592-1666), the Mughal Emperor of India who commissioned the construction of the iconic Taj Mahal. His birth name was Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram, but he was known as Shah Jahan, which means "King of the World" in Persian.
In the 20th century, the name Kahn gained prominence with figures like Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988), a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. He was also known as the "Frontier Gandhi" for his non-violent resistance against British rule.
Lastly, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), the first Prime Minister of independent India, had a daughter named Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, who later became the third Prime Minister of India. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991), who also served as Prime Minister, had a son named Rahul Gandhi, whose middle name is Kahn.
People
Kahn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kahn 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
Kahn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kahn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 39 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kahn 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 8,788,573 US residents.
Is Kahn a common name?
We classify Kahn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 41 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kahn most popular?
The single biggest year for Kahn was 1976, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kahn is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kahn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kahn 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.