Kaigan
A masculine Japanese name meaning "shoreline" or "beach".
Name Census estimates that about 19 living Americans carry the first name Kaigan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 63.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Kaigan today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaigan births was 2007 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaigan. 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 Kaigan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
19
~ 1 in 18,039,702 Americans
Peak year
2007
7 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2010 SSA rank
#10,206
Tracked since 2004
Gender
Gender distribution for Kaigan
Kaigan is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 19 total registrations, 7 (36.8%) were male and 12 (63.2%) were female.
Kaigan as a male name
- Ranked #10,206 in 2010
- 7 male births in 2010
- Peak: 2010 (7 births)
Kaigan as a female name
- Ranked #14,632 in 2007
- 7 female births in 2007
- Peak: 2007 (7 births)
Popularity
Kaigan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaigan from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kaigan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaigan 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 Kaigan 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 Kaigan
The name Kaigan has its origins in Japanese culture, derived from the combination of two words – "kai" meaning ocean or sea, and "gan" meaning a steep cliff or rocky shore. This name likely emerged during Japan's feudal era, specifically among coastal communities where the landscape featured prominent seaside cliffs.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing this name was Kaigan Osaki, a renowned ceramic artist who lived between 1797 and 1863. Osaki's intricate porcelain works, often featuring ocean-inspired motifs, garnered widespread acclaim and are now preserved in various museums across Japan.
In the realm of literature, Kaigan Nakamura, a celebrated poet from the late 19th century (1876-1947), is renowned for his evocative verses that captured the essence of coastal life and the profound connection between humans and the sea.
Transitioning to the 20th century, Kaigan Yamamoto (1909-1982) made significant contributions as a marine biologist, pioneering research on the intricate ecosystems of coastal regions and their delicate balance with human activities.
Another notable figure was Kaigan Takahashi (1924-2001), a revered Zen Buddhist monk who spent years in solitary meditation retreats near the rugged coastlines of Japan. His teachings on finding inner peace and harmony with nature continue to inspire spiritual seekers worldwide.
Lastly, Kaigan Mori (1941-2018) left an indelible mark as a renowned architect, renowned for designing structures that seamlessly integrated with their coastal surroundings, blurring the lines between the built environment and the majesty of the ocean.
People
Kaigan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaigan 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
Kaigan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaigan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaigan 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 18,039,702 US residents.
Is Kaigan a common name?
We classify Kaigan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaigan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaigan was 2007, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaigan is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kaigan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaigan a female name?
Yes, 63.2% of people registered as Kaigan 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 Kaigan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaigan 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 Kaigan 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Kaigan?
See how many Americans are named Kaigan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.