Kam
An Indian Sanskrit name meaning "lover" or "one who desires".
Name Census estimates that about 1,224 living Americans carry the first name Kam. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 70.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Kam today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kam births was 1974 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kam. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 280,028 Americans
Peak year
1974
75 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,011
Tracked since 1914
Gender
Gender distribution for Kam
Kam is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,320 total registrations, 935 (70.8%) were male and 385 (29.2%) were female.
Kam as a male name
- Ranked #3,011 in 2024
- 41 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (57 births)
Kam as a female name
- Ranked #11,244 in 1982
- 5 female births in 1982
- Peak: 1974 (62 births)
Popularity
Kam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kam from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 393 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kam remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kam 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 Kam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Kam, while Kentucky, Georgia, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kam
The name Kam originated from the Sanskrit language, which was the classical language of ancient India. It dates back to around the 2nd century BCE. In Sanskrit, the word "Kam" means "desire" or "longing."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kam can be found in the ancient Indian epic poem, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Kam was a minor character who was known for his bravery and loyalty.
Kam was also the name of a Hindu king who ruled over a small kingdom in northern India during the 6th century CE. He was known for his fair and just rule, and his kingdom prospered under his leadership.
In the 11th century, there was a famous Muslim scholar and philosopher named Kam al-Din al-Farabi. He was born in modern-day Kazakhstan and was known for his contributions to the fields of logic, mathematics, and music theory.
During the Renaissance period, Kam was the name of a Italian painter and sculptor who lived in the 15th century. He was known for his intricate woodcarvings and his work can still be seen in many churches and cathedrals throughout Italy.
In more recent history, Kam Yuen was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in 1828 and was known for his contributions to education and social welfare in Hong Kong.
Another notable figure with the name Kam was Kam Sing Wong, a Chinese-American author and activist who was born in 1925. He wrote extensively about the experiences of Chinese immigrants in the United States and was a vocal advocate for civil rights.
Overall, the name Kam has a rich history that spans multiple cultures and time periods. While its origins can be traced back to ancient India, it has been adopted and used by people from various backgrounds and has taken on different meanings and connotations over time.
People
Kam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kam 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
Kam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,224 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kam 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 280,028 US residents.
Is Kam a common name?
We classify Kam as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,320 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kam most popular?
The single biggest year for Kam was 1974, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kam is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kam a male name?
Yes, 70.8% of people registered as Kam 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.