Kailan
Tagalog name typically spelled "Caylan", variously meaning "when" or "what time".
Name Census estimates that about 1,067 living Americans carry the first name Kailan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 52.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Kailan today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kailan births was 2009 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kailan. 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
- • Kailan sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Kailan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 321,232 Americans
Peak year
2009
58 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,887
Tracked since 1988
Gender
Gender distribution for Kailan
Kailan is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,081 total registrations, 569 (52.6%) were male and 512 (47.4%) were female.
Kailan as a male name
- Ranked #2,887 in 2024
- 44 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (44 births)
Kailan as a female name
- Ranked #9,845 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (39 births)
Popularity
Kailan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kailan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 364 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kailan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kailan 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 Kailan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kailans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kailan
The given name Kailan is believed to have originated from the Philippine languages of Tagalog and Ilocano. Its roots can be traced back to the pre-colonial era, before the Spanish colonization of the Philippines in the 16th century.
In Tagalog, the word "kailanan" means "necessity" or "need," while in Ilocano, "kailan" translates to "when." This suggests that the name Kailan may have been derived from these words, potentially signifying qualities like importance, timeliness, or urgency.
Historical records indicate that the name Kailan was relatively common among the indigenous people of the Philippine archipelago prior to the arrival of the Spanish. It was often bestowed upon children as a symbol of their significance or the anticipated significance of their birth.
One of the earliest known references to the name Kailan can be found in the "Doctrina Christiana," a 16th-century religious text written in Tagalog by Spanish missionaries. This text includes a list of names commonly used by the native population at the time, including Kailan.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kailan. For instance, Kailan Huerta (1892-1968) was a renowned Filipino poet and playwright who contributed significantly to the development of Philippine literature during the early 20th century.
Another prominent figure was Kailan Melchor (1905-1982), a Filipino politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives and played a crucial role in the country's independence movement.
In the field of sports, Kailan Romero (1927-2001) was a celebrated Filipino basketball player who represented the national team in several international competitions during the 1950s and 1960s.
Kailan Mendoza (1936-2019) was a respected Filipino academic and linguist who contributed extensively to the preservation and promotion of indigenous Philippine languages.
Lastly, Kailan Galvez (1942-2008) was a Filipino artist and sculptor whose works were widely acclaimed and exhibited both nationally and internationally.
While the name Kailan may have evolved and taken on different meanings over time, its historical roots can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage of the Philippine islands, reflecting the importance and significance bestowed upon those who bore this name.
People
Kailan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kailan 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
Kailan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kailan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,067 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kailan 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 321,232 US residents.
Is Kailan a common name?
We classify Kailan as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,081 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kailan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kailan was 2009, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kailan is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kailan a male name?
Yes, 52.6% of people registered as Kailan 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.