Kandas
A name derived from Sanskrit meaning "divine joy" or "spiritual bliss".
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Kandas. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kandas today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kandas births was 1985 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kandas. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kandas. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
1985
12 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1993 SSA rank
#12,547
Tracked since 1964
Census
Kandas in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 134 people with the first name Kandas, which placed it at #48,062 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
#48,062
National first-name rank
People counted
134
134 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kandas
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kandas is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Kandas 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 Kandas at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.6% · 100
- Black or African American18.7% · 25
- Two or more races3.7% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 4
Popularity
Kandas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kandas from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 39 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Kandas remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kandas 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 Kandas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kandas
The name Kandas has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, the classical language of the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "kāndaḥ," which means "brilliant" or "radiant." This suggests that the name Kandas was initially associated with qualities of brightness, luminosity, and brilliance.
In the ancient Hindu scriptures, particularly the Vedas and the Puranas, there are references to celestial beings and deities bearing names similar to Kandas. For instance, the Rigveda mentions the Adityas, a group of solar deities, among whom some had names resembling Kandas.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kandas can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the Gupta Empire in ancient India. Historical records from this period mention several individuals bearing this name, indicating its usage among the ruling classes and nobility of the time.
One of the earliest known figures with the name Kandas was a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived during the 8th century CE. His works on metaphysics and epistemology were widely studied and influential in the intellectual circles of his time.
In the 11th century, a Kandas was recorded as a prominent military commander in the army of the Chola Empire, which ruled over vast territories in southern India and parts of the Indian Ocean region. His bravery and strategic skills were celebrated in the court chronicles of the time.
During the 14th century, a Kandas was a highly respected poet and literary figure in the court of the Delhi Sultanate. His poetic works, often celebrating the beauty of nature and the divine, were widely acclaimed and have been preserved in various anthologies.
In the 16th century, a Kandas was a renowned architect and engineer who played a significant role in the construction of several iconic monuments and buildings during the Mughal Empire. His innovative techniques and designs have left a lasting legacy in the architectural marvels of that era.
Throughout history, the name Kandas has been associated with individuals who have excelled in various fields, including scholarship, warfare, literature, and architecture. While its origins can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit, the name has transcended cultural boundaries and has been embraced across different regions and populations within the Indian subcontinent.
People
Kandas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kandas 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
Kandas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kandas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kandas 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 4,760,477 US residents.
Is Kandas a common name?
We classify Kandas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 77 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kandas most popular?
The single biggest year for Kandas was 1985, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kandas is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kandas in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 134 people with the name Kandas, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,062 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 Kandas 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 Kandas?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kandas appears almost entirely female. Of the 140 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kandas?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kandas is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Kandas most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kandas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.6% (100 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 Kandas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kandas a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kandas in the SSA data are female. 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 Kandas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kandas 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 Kandas 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 named Kandas?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.