Kathan
A name of Sanskrit origin meaning storyteller or narrator.
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Kathan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kathan today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kathan births was 2012 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kathan. 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 Kathan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
2012
19 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2020 SSA rank
#11,310
Tracked since 1998
Census
Kathan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 280 people with the first name Kathan, which placed it at #30,870 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
#30,870
National first-name rank
People counted
280
280 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kathan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kathan is White at 44.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.9%) and Two or More Races (10.4%). 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 Kathan 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 Kathan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.6% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.9% · 78
- Two or more races10.4% · 29
- Black or African American7.9% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 5
Popularity
Kathan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kathan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kathan 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 Kathan 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 Kathan
The name Kathan is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Kathana," which means "narration" or "story." The name Kathan, therefore, signifies someone who is a storyteller or a narrator.
In ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, the name Kathan is mentioned in various contexts, often referring to scholars, philosophers, or spiritual teachers who were known for their ability to convey profound wisdom through stories and parables. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Puranas, which are ancient Hindu texts that detail the creation of the universe and the lives of various deities and sages.
One of the most famous historical figures bearing the name Kathan was Kathan Acharya, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and playwright who lived in the 7th century CE. He is best known for his work titled "Katha Sarit Sagara," which is a collection of tales and fables that have been influential in shaping Indian literature and culture.
Another notable figure with the name Kathan was Kathan Bhatt, a 17th-century Indian poet and scholar from the Deccan region. He is remembered for his contributions to the Marathi language and literature, particularly his work on the epic poem "Pandava Pratap."
In the field of Indian classical music, Kathan Ahir was a prominent figure during the 16th century. He was a renowned musician and composer who is credited with introducing several innovations in the Dhrupad style of Hindustani classical music.
Moving forward in time, Kathan Singh Rana was a renowned Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement against British rule in the early 20th century. He was born in 1897 and was actively involved in various revolutionary activities, including the Ghadar Party movement.
Another historical figure bearing the name Kathan was Kathan Tripathi, an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh from 1971 to 1973. He was born in 1905 and was known for his contributions to the political landscape of India during the post-independence era.
These are just a few examples of notable figures throughout history who bore the name Kathan, illustrating its deep-rooted connections to Indian culture, literature, and traditions.
People
Kathan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kathan 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
Kathan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kathan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kathan 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Kathan a common name?
We classify Kathan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 198 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kathan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kathan was 2012, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kathan is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kathan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 280 people with the name Kathan, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,870 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 Kathan 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 Kathan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kathan leans strongly male. 237 people counted with this name were male (84.6%), compared with 43 female bearers (15.4%). 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 Kathan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kathan is White at 44.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.9%) and Two or More Races (10.4%). 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 Kathan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kathan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.6% (125 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 Kathan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kathan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kathan 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 Kathan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kathan 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 Kathan 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 common is the name Kathan?
See how many Americans are named Kathan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.