Kalmen
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "wholehearted" or "benevolent".
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the first name Kalmen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kalmen today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalmen births was 2018 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalmen. 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
126
~ 1 in 2,720,273 Americans
Peak year
2018
14 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,387
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Kalmen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kalmen from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 60 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kalmen 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 Kalmen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kalmens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kalmen
The name Kalmen is a variant of the Hebrew name Kalman, which is derived from the Hebrew word "kol" meaning "voice" and "man" meaning "sustenance" or "bread." The name can be interpreted as "voice of sustenance" or "voice of nourishment." Its origins can be traced back to medieval Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe.
The name Kalmen gained prominence during the Middle Ages and was commonly used among Ashkenazi Jewish communities in countries like Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. It was a popular choice for parents who wished to give their sons a name that reflected their hopes for them to be voices of wisdom and sustenance within their communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kalmen can be found in the 16th century, when Rabbi Kalman Arus, also known as the Holy Rebbe of Krakow, lived in Poland. He was a renowned Talmudic scholar and Kabbalist, and his teachings and writings had a significant impact on Jewish mysticism.
In the 17th century, another notable figure named Kalmen was Kalmen Sofer, a renowned Hungarian-Jewish scholar and author. He is best known for his work "Shulchan Aruch," which became a foundational text for Jewish law and practice.
During the 18th century, Kalmen Epstein, a Polish-Jewish banker and philanthropist, made significant contributions to Jewish communities across Europe. He was instrumental in establishing educational institutions and supporting Jewish scholarship.
In the 19th century, Kalmen Wolfsohn, a German-Jewish writer and activist, played a crucial role in advocating for Jewish emancipation and civil rights. His writings and speeches helped shape the discourse around Jewish identity and integration in Europe.
Another notable figure bearing the name Kalmen was Kalmen Shulman, a Russian-Jewish author and journalist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was known for his short stories and novels that explored the lives of Jewish communities in Russia and their struggles during that period.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who carried the name Kalmen and made significant contributions to their respective fields and communities.
People
Kalmen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalmen 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
Kalmen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalmen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 126 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalmen 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 2,720,273 US residents.
Is Kalmen a common name?
We classify Kalmen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 127 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalmen most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalmen was 2018, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalmen is about 9 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 Kalmen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalmen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kalmen 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 Kalmen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalmen 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 Kalmen 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 share the name Kalmen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.