Kajetan
A masculine name of Polish origin meaning "rejoice".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Kajetan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kajetan today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kajetan births was 2010 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kajetan. 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 Kajetan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kajetan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2010
6 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,045
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Kajetan: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kajetan 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 Kajetan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kajetan
The name Kajetan has its origins in the Latin language and is derived from the name Caietanus, which means "from Gaeta." Gaeta is a coastal town located in the Lazio region of central Italy. The name's roots can be traced back to the ancient Roman era.
In the early Christian era, the name gained prominence due to its association with Saint Cajetan, who was born in 1480 in Vicenza, Italy. He was the founder of the Clerks Regular, also known as the Theatines, a Roman Catholic religious order. Saint Cajetan dedicated his life to serving the poor and promoting religious reform. He is celebrated on August 7th in the Catholic Church.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kajetan can be found in the writings of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus, who mentioned a person named Caietanus in his works. However, it is worth noting that the spelling and pronunciation of the name may have evolved over time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kajetan. Here are five examples:
1. Kajetan Sołtyk (1715-1788), a Polish nobleman and Catholic bishop who served as the Bishop of Kyiv and the Archbishop of Gniezno.
2. Kajetan Koźmian (1771-1856), a Polish poet, translator, and literary critic who played a significant role in the Polish Enlightenment movement.
3. Kajetan von Feuchtersleben (1805-1849), an Austrian philosopher and author best known for his work on psychology and psychiatry.
4. Kajetan Abgarowicz (1856-1909), a Polish painter and professor at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, known for his portraits and historical paintings.
5. Kajetan Müller (1834-1888), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the Bavarian court in Munich.
These individuals from various fields and time periods demonstrate the widespread use of the name Kajetan across different cultures and regions, particularly in Europe.
People
Kajetan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kajetan 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
Kajetan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kajetan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kajetan 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Kajetan a common name?
We classify Kajetan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kajetan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kajetan was 2010, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kajetan is about 14 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 Kajetan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kajetan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kajetan 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 Kajetan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kajetan 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 Kajetan 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 many people have the name Kajetan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.