Kanosha
A feminine name of Native American origin meaning "wind from the south".
Name Census estimates that about 35 living Americans carry the first name Kanosha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kanosha today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kanosha births was 1989 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kanosha. 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 Kanosha. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
35
~ 1 in 9,792,981 Americans
Peak year
1989
7 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2004 SSA rank
#17,396
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Kanosha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kanosha from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 24 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kanosha 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 Kanosha 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 Kanosha
The name Kanosha has its origins rooted in the ancient Sanskrit language, which was the primary language used in various regions of the Indian subcontinent during the first millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Kanishtha," meaning "youngest" or "junior." This suggests that the name may have been given to children who were the youngest in their family or born after their siblings.
In the Hindu religious texts, particularly the Puranas, there are references to a few characters bearing the name Kanosha or variations of it. One such character is Kanishka, an important figure in Indian mythology who is believed to have been a powerful ruler and patron of Buddhism during the Kushan Empire in the 2nd century CE.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Kanosha can be traced back to the 7th century CE, when it appears in various inscriptions and historical records from the Indian subcontinent. One notable individual with this name was Kanosha Devi, a queen consort of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, who lived in the 9th century CE.
Throughout history, there have been several other notable individuals who bore the name Kanosha. One such person was Kanosha Nath, a renowned spiritual leader and mystic poet from Bengal, who lived in the 16th century CE and is revered in the Baul tradition of Bengal.
Another noteworthy figure was Kanosha Sambhunath, a 17th-century Nepalese poet and playwright, who is considered one of the pioneers of Nepali literature. His works, such as the play "Haribhakti Vilasa," have had a lasting impact on Nepali culture and language.
In the 19th century, Kanosha Chakravarti was a prominent Bengali writer and social reformer who advocated for women's education and fought against social injustices. Her literary works, including the novel "Nabamalika," were instrumental in shaping the literary landscape of Bengal during that period.
Lastly, Kanosha Mukherjee was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement against British rule in the early 20th century. She was actively involved in the Non-Cooperation Movement and spent several years in prison for her involvement in the struggle for India's independence.
People
Kanosha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kanosha 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
Kanosha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kanosha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 35 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kanosha 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 9,792,981 US residents.
Is Kanosha a common name?
We classify Kanosha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kanosha most popular?
The single biggest year for Kanosha was 1989, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kanosha is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kanosha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kanosha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kanosha 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 Kanosha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kanosha 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 Kanosha 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Kanosha?
See how many Americans are named Kanosha on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.