Kandon
A unique name potentially derived from Old English words meaning "pleasant valley".
Name Census estimates that about 184 living Americans carry the first name Kandon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kandon today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kandon births was 2007 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kandon. 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
184
~ 1 in 1,862,795 Americans
Peak year
2007
14 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,233
Tracked since 1988
Census
Kandon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 165 people with the first name Kandon, which placed it at #43,061 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
#43,061
National first-name rank
People counted
165
165 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kandon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kandon is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (12.1%). 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 Kandon 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 Kandon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.1% · 109
- Black or African American17.6% · 29
- Two or more races12.1% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 3
Popularity
Kandon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kandon from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 78 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kandon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kandon 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 Kandon 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 Kandon
The given name Kandon is believed to have originated from the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known civilizations located in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, dating back to around 3500 BC. The name is thought to be derived from the Sumerian words "kan" meaning "leader" and "don" meaning "noble," suggesting it was possibly bestowed upon individuals of high societal status or leadership roles.
Traces of the name Kandon can be found in ancient Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions, though its exact usage and significance remain shrouded in the mists of time. It is possible that the name held symbolic or religious connotations within the polytheistic belief systems of the Sumerians, who revered various deities associated with natural phenomena and aspects of human civilization.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Kandon was a Sumerian high priest who lived in the city of Uruk around 2800 BC. While little is known about his life, his name was etched onto a clay tablet that detailed religious rituals and offerings made to the goddess Inanna, the Sumerian deity of love, beauty, and fertility.
In later centuries, the name Kandon appeared to have spread beyond the confines of Mesopotamia, possibly through trade routes and cultural exchange. A prominent figure named Kandon was a military commander in the Persian Empire during the reign of Darius the Great (550-486 BC). He is mentioned in the Behistun Inscription, a multi-lingual rock-carved inscription that recounts Darius' rise to power and his suppression of revolts across the empire.
During the medieval period, a notable individual named Kandon was a scholar and physician who lived in the city of Baghdad around 900 AD. He was renowned for his contributions to the field of medicine and his translations of ancient Greek and Persian texts into Arabic, which helped preserve and disseminate knowledge during the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 14th century, a Mongol warrior named Kandon gained fame for his bravery and skill in battle. He served under the great conqueror Timur (also known as Tamerlane) and was instrumental in several victories that expanded the Timurid Empire across Central Asia and parts of the Middle East.
Another notable figure with the name Kandon was a 16th-century poet and calligrapher from the Ottoman Empire. His works were highly praised for their elegance and artistry, and some of his calligraphic pieces adorned the walls of mosques and palaces throughout the Ottoman territories.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Kandon, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and eras, from ancient Mesopotamia to medieval Persia, the Islamic Golden Age, and the expansive empires of the Mongols and Ottomans.
People
Kandon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kandon 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
Kandon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kandon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 184 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kandon 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 1,862,795 US residents.
Is Kandon a common name?
We classify Kandon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 186 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kandon most popular?
The single biggest year for Kandon was 2007, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kandon is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kandon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 165 people with the name Kandon, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,061 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 Kandon 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 Kandon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kandon leans strongly male. 150 people counted with this name were male (90.4%), compared with 16 female bearers (9.6%). 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 Kandon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kandon is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.6%) and Two or More Races (12.1%). 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 Kandon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kandon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.1% (109 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 Kandon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kandon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kandon 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 Kandon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kandon 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 Kandon 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 Kandon?
You can see how many Americans are named Kandon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.