Kayson
A masculine name derived from the surname Kaye, of English origin.
Name Census estimates that about 14,051 living Americans carry the first name Kayson. It sits at #291 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Kayson today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kayson births was 2022 (1,245 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kayson. 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 Kayson with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kayson is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 277 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Kayson is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
14K
~ 1 in 24,394 Americans
Peak year
2022
1,245 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#291
Tracked since 1982
Census
Kayson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,849 people with the first name Kayson, which placed it at #3,176 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
#3,176
National first-name rank
People counted
6.8K
6,849 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kayson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kayson is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Kayson 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 Kayson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.0% · 3,837
- Black or African American20.0% · 1,367
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 653
- Two or more races8.9% · 607
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 282
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 103
Gender
Gender distribution for Kayson
Kayson leans heavily male at 98.0% of total registrations, but 277 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kayson as a male name
- Ranked #291 in 2024
- 1,146 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (1,238 births)
Kayson as a female name
- Ranked #10,648 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (24 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kayson leans strongly male. 6,627 people counted with this name were male (96.8%), compared with 221 female bearers (3.2%).
Popularity
Kayson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kayson 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 6,974 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
Kayson 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 Kayson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaysons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Florida recorded the most babies named Kayson, while Wyoming, Maine, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 263 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kayson
The name Kayson is a relatively modern invention, originating in the late 20th century as a variant of the more traditional name Jason. It does not have any direct roots in ancient languages or cultures, and its origins are primarily rooted in creative name-making trends of recent decades.
While the name Jason itself is derived from the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, the prefix "Kay" in Kayson does not have any specific linguistic or cultural significance. It was likely added to create a unique and distinctive name, perhaps inspired by the popularity of names beginning with the letter "K" during this time period.
Due to its recent coinage, there are no known historical references or appearances of the name Kayson in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the late 20th century. The earliest recorded instances of the name are likely found in modern birth records and census data from the past few decades.
As a relatively new name, there are not many historically significant individuals who have borne the name Kayson. However, here are a few notable examples:
1. Kayson Shunta (born 1989), an American YouTuber and social media influencer known for his fitness and lifestyle content.
2. Kayson Gaines (born 1995), an American professional basketball player currently playing in Europe.
3. Kayson Roca (born 1992), a Brazilian mixed martial artist competing in the featherweight division.
4. Kayson Merrill (born 1988), an American entrepreneur and co-founder of the software company Demio.
5. Kayson Rutt (born 1997), an Australian cricketer who plays for the Tasmania state team in domestic competitions.
While the name Kayson may not have a rich historical background, its increasing popularity in recent years reflects the continuing evolution of naming trends and the desire for unique and distinctive names in modern society.
People
Kayson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kayson 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
Kayson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kayson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,051 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kayson 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 24,394 US residents.
Is Kayson a common name?
We classify Kayson as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14,157 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kayson most popular?
The single biggest year for Kayson was 2022, when 1,245 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kayson is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kayson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,849 people with the name Kayson, or 2.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,176 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 Kayson 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 Kayson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kayson leans strongly male. 6,627 people counted with this name were male (96.8%), compared with 221 female bearers (3.2%). 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 Kayson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kayson is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Kayson most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kayson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.0% (3,837 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 Kayson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kayson a male name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Kayson 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 Kayson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kayson 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 Kayson 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 Kayson?
You can see how many Americans are named Kayson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.