Katoya
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a combination of elements meaning "pure" and "prayer".
Name Census estimates that about 177 living Americans carry the first name Katoya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Katoya today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Katoya births was 1981 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Katoya. 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
177
~ 1 in 1,936,465 Americans
Peak year
1981
18 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1991 SSA rank
#9,748
Tracked since 1974
Census
Katoya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 176 people with the first name Katoya, which placed it at #41,537 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
#41,537
National first-name rank
People counted
176
176 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Katoya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katoya is Black at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and White (1.1%). 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 Katoya 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 Katoya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.5% · 161
- Two or more races5.1% · 9
- White1.1% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Katoya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Katoya from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 136 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Katoya 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 Katoya 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 Katoya
The name Katoya has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "katoka," which means "storyteller" or "narrator." This name likely originated among the Hindu communities in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, possibly in the regions that are now parts of modern-day India, Pakistan, and Nepal, dating back to the 1st millennium BCE.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Katoya can be traced back to the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Katoya is the name of a sage who is revered for his wisdom and knowledge of ancient stories and legends. This suggests that the name was associated with individuals who were skilled in the art of storytelling and preserving oral traditions.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Katoya was a Hindu scholar and philosopher who lived in the 5th century CE. He is renowned for his commentaries on the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures, and his contributions to the study of Hindu philosophy and spirituality.
In the 9th century CE, a renowned Buddhist monk and traveler named Katoya embarked on a journey from India to China. His travels and encounters with different cultures and traditions were documented in his writings, which provided valuable insights into the cultural exchanges and interactions between the two ancient civilizations.
During the 12th century CE, a Sufi mystic and poet from Persia (modern-day Iran) named Katoya gained recognition for his spiritual verses and contributions to the Sufi tradition. His works explored themes of love, devotion, and the pursuit of divine knowledge.
In the 16th century, a Hindu scholar and astrologer named Katoya from the Mughal Empire (covering parts of modern-day India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan) gained prominence for his astrological calculations and contributions to the field of astronomy. His works were widely studied and referenced by scholars of his time.
It is important to note that while these are some notable examples of individuals with the name Katoya throughout history, the name's origins and usage may have varied across different regions and cultures, reflecting the diversity and richness of the Indian subcontinent's linguistic and cultural heritage.
People
Katoya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Katoya 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
Katoya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Katoya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 177 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Katoya 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 1,936,465 US residents.
Is Katoya a common name?
We classify Katoya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 189 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Katoya most popular?
The single biggest year for Katoya was 1981, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Katoya 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 Katoya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 176 people with the name Katoya, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,537 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 Katoya 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 Katoya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Katoya leans strongly female. 183 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Katoya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Katoya is Black at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and White (1.1%). 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 Katoya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Katoya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (161 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 Katoya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Katoya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Katoya 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 Katoya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Katoya 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 Katoya 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 Katoya?
Want to know how many people share the name Katoya? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.