Kamal
Of Arabic origin meaning "perfection" or "completion".
Name Census estimates that about 2,973 living Americans carry the first name Kamal. It is a predominantly male name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Kamal today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kamal births was 2009 (97 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kamal. 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 Kamal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.0K
~ 1 in 115,289 Americans
Peak year
2009
97 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,603
Tracked since 1946
Census
Kamal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,855 people with the first name Kamal, which placed it at #2,903 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
#2,903
National first-name rank
People counted
7.9K
7,855 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
39.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kamal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kamal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.7%. The next largest groups are White (30.3%) and Black (23.7%). 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 Kamal 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 Kamal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander39.7% · 3,115
- White30.3% · 2,383
- Black or African American23.7% · 1,860
- Two or more races4.4% · 348
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 129
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 20
Gender
Gender distribution for Kamal
Out of the 3,056 babies given the name Kamal since 1880, 99.2% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Kamal as a male name
- Ranked #2,603 in 2024
- 51 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (97 births)
Kamal as a female name
- Ranked #8,666 in 1997
- 10 female births in 1997
- Peak: 1997 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kamal leans strongly male. 7,220 people counted with this name were male (91.9%), compared with 635 female bearers (8.1%).
Popularity
Kamal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kamal from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 752 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kamal remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kamal 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 Kamal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kamals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Kamal, while Massachusetts, Louisiana, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 73 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kamal
The name Kamal is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "kamal" which means "perfection" or "completeness." It is a name that has been used for centuries in various cultures and regions influenced by the Arabic language and Islamic civilization.
In the Arabic-speaking world, the name Kamal has been popular since the early days of Islam. It is believed to have been inspired by the Islamic teachings that emphasize striving for excellence and perfection in all aspects of life.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Kamal can be found in the works of renowned Islamic scholars and poets from the medieval period. For instance, the 13th-century Persian poet Kamal al-Din Ismail al-Isfahani, also known as Kamal al-Isfahani, was a celebrated literary figure renowned for his mastery of poetry and prose.
Throughout history, the name Kamal has been borne by various influential figures across different fields. Kamal Ataturk (1881-1938), the founder of modern Turkey, was a prominent military leader and statesman who played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Turkish Republic.
In the realm of science, Kamal Youssef El-Sayed (1925-2010) was an influential Egyptian chemist and academic, known for his contributions to the field of heterocyclic chemistry and his role in establishing the National Research Centre in Cairo.
The name Kamal has also been associated with artistic and literary figures. Kamal Amrohi (1918-1993) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer, celebrated for his distinctive style and critically acclaimed films like "Pakeezah."
Another notable figure is Kamal Haasan (born 1954), an Indian actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter, who is widely regarded as one of the most influential and versatile talents in the Indian film industry.
In the world of sports, Kamal Adham (born 1980) is an Egyptian professional squash player who has achieved numerous accolades, including becoming the first Egyptian to reach the world number one ranking in squash.
These are just a few examples of the many accomplished individuals who have borne the name Kamal throughout history, showcasing its rich cultural significance and enduring popularity across diverse regions and disciplines.
People
Kamal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kamal 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
Kamal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kamal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,973 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kamal 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 115,289 US residents.
Is Kamal a common name?
We classify Kamal as "Rare". It ranks above 95.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,056 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kamal most popular?
The single biggest year for Kamal was 2009, when 97 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kamal is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kamal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,855 people with the name Kamal, or 2.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,903 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 Kamal 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 Kamal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kamal leans strongly male. 7,220 people counted with this name were male (91.9%), compared with 635 female bearers (8.1%). 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 Kamal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kamal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.7%. The next largest groups are White (30.3%) and Black (23.7%). 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 Kamal most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kamal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.7% (3,115 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 Kamal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kamal a male name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Kamal 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 Kamal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kamal 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 Kamal 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 are called Kamal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.