Kaula
Hawaiian name meaning "lei of flowers" or "flower garland".
Name Census estimates that about 195 living Americans carry the first name Kaula. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaula today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaula births was 1988 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaula. 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
195
~ 1 in 1,757,715 Americans
Peak year
1988
33 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1999 SSA rank
#15,579
Tracked since 1983
Census
Kaula in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 158 people with the first name Kaula, which placed it at #44,091 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
#44,091
National first-name rank
People counted
158
158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaula
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaula is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Black (11.4%). 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 Kaula 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 Kaula at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.9% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino12.0% · 19
- Black or African American11.4% · 18
- Two or more races10.1% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
Popularity
Kaula: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaula from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 109 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaula 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 Kaula during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaulas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaula
The name Kaula is believed to have its roots in the Sanskrit language, which originated in ancient India. Its earliest known usage can be traced back to the Vedic period, around 1500-500 BCE. In Sanskrit, the word 'kaula' is derived from the term 'kula,' which means family, tribe, or community.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Kaula is found in the Kaula Tantric traditions, a branch of Tantric Hinduism that emerged in Kashmir and parts of northern India around the 9th century CE. The Kaula school emphasized the importance of the guru-disciple relationship and the attainment of spiritual enlightenment through tantric practices.
In ancient Hindu texts, such as the Puranas and the Mahabharata, there are mentions of characters and sages with names related to 'Kaula.' One notable figure is Kaula Bhrigu, a renowned sage and one of the seven great sages (Saptarishi) in Hindu mythology. He is believed to have lived during the Treta Yuga and is revered for his wisdom and contributions to various Hindu scriptures.
Throughout history, the name Kaula has been associated with several influential figures across various fields. One such person is Kaula Shridharacharya, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and philosopher who lived in the 15th century CE. He is known for his works on Advaita Vedanta philosophy and his commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures.
Another notable individual is Kaula Devi, a legendary queen of the Kachwaha Rajput dynasty, who ruled the kingdom of Amber (present-day Jaipur, India) in the 16th century CE. She is celebrated for her courage, wisdom, and efforts in promoting education and culture during her reign.
In the field of music, Kaula Banurji is a distinguished name. He was a renowned Indian classical vocalist and a prominent exponent of the Gwalior gharana (musical lineage) in the 19th century CE. His contributions to the preservation and promotion of Hindustani classical music are widely recognized.
Lastly, Kaula Bunkar was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from the early 20th century. He played a significant role in the Indian independence movement and worked tirelessly for the upliftment of underprivileged communities, particularly weavers and artisans.
People
Kaula + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaula 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
Kaula: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaula?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 195 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaula 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 1,757,715 US residents.
Is Kaula a common name?
We classify Kaula as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 204 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaula most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaula was 1988, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaula is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaula in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 158 people with the name Kaula, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,091 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 Kaula 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 Kaula?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaula leans strongly female. 148 people counted with this name were female (95.5%), compared with 7 male bearers (4.5%). 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 Kaula?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaula is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Black (11.4%). 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 Kaula most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaula in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.9% (93 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 Kaula in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaula a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaula 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 Kaula still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaula 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 Kaula 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 have Kaula as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.