Kamaal
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "perfection" or "excellence".
Name Census estimates that about 310 living Americans carry the first name Kamaal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kamaal today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kamaal births was 1991 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kamaal. 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 Kamaal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
310
~ 1 in 1,105,659 Americans
Peak year
1991
18 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,388
Tracked since 1979
Census
Kamaal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 308 people with the first name Kamaal, which placed it at #28,952 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,952
National first-name rank
People counted
308
308 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kamaal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kamaal is Black at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kamaal described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kamaal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.5% · 254
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 18
- Two or more races4.9% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 10
- White2.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Kamaal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kamaal from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 88 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kamaal 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 Kamaal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kamaals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kamaal
The name Kamaal is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, a Semitic language spoken widely across the Middle East and North Africa. The name is derived from the Arabic word "kamaal," which means "perfection" or "completion." It carries a connotation of excellence, beauty, and flawlessness.
In the Islamic tradition, the concept of "kamaal" holds significant importance. It is often associated with the idea of striving for spiritual and moral perfection, as well as attaining a state of completeness in one's relationship with the Divine. The name Kamaal may have been bestowed upon individuals as a wish or aspiration for them to embody these virtues.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Kamaal can be traced back to the medieval period, particularly in regions where Arabic culture and language held sway. It was commonly found in historical records, literature, and religious texts from various parts of the Islamic world, including the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Kamaal was Kamaal al-Din al-Farisi, a renowned Persian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 13th century. His contributions to the fields of mathematics, optics, and astronomy were highly regarded during his time.
Another notable figure was Kamaal al-Din al-Zamakhshari, an influential Persian scholar and linguist from the 12th century. He was renowned for his works on Arabic grammar, lexicography, and Quranic exegesis, and his writings had a significant impact on the development of Arabic literature and linguistic studies.
In the realm of literature, Kamaal al-Din al-Isfahani was a prominent Persian poet and writer who lived during the 12th century. His poetic works, particularly his mastery of the ghazal form, were widely celebrated and influenced generations of poets in the Persian literary tradition.
Moving forward in time, Kamaal-ud-Din Behzad was a renowned Persian painter and illustrator who lived during the 15th and 16th centuries. He is considered one of the greatest masters of the Persian miniature painting tradition and his works are celebrated for their exquisite detail, vibrant colors, and technical mastery.
Another notable figure bearing the name Kamaal was Kamaal Ataturk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. Born in 1881, Ataturk was a revolutionary leader who played a pivotal role in the establishment of modern Turkey, implementing sweeping reforms and transforming the country into a secular, westernized nation.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Kamaal, each leaving their mark in various fields, from science and literature to art and politics. The name's rich heritage and associations with excellence and perfection have undoubtedly contributed to its enduring appeal across generations.
People
Kamaal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kamaal 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
Kamaal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kamaal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 310 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kamaal 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 1,105,659 US residents.
Is Kamaal a common name?
We classify Kamaal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 317 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kamaal most popular?
The single biggest year for Kamaal was 1991, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kamaal is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kamaal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 308 people with the name Kamaal, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,952 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kamaal in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kamaal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kamaal leans strongly male. 304 people counted with this name were male (98.4%), compared with 5 female bearers (1.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kamaal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kamaal is Black at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kamaal most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kamaal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.5% (254 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Kamaal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kamaal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kamaal 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 Kamaal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kamaal 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 Kamaal 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.
How many people have Kamaal as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Kamaal, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.