Kilo
A unisex name of Greek origin meaning "thousand".
Name Census estimates that about 107 living Americans carry the first name Kilo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kilo today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kilo births was 2023 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kilo. 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
107
~ 1 in 3,203,312 Americans
Peak year
2023
15 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,688
Tracked since 1990
Census
Kilo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 185 people with the first name Kilo, which placed it at #40,305 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
#40,305
National first-name rank
People counted
185
185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
44.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kilo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kilo is Black at 44.9%. The next largest groups are White (18.9%) and Hispanic (16.2%). 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 Kilo 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 Kilo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American44.9% · 83
- White18.9% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino16.2% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.4% · 21
- Two or more races5.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 6
Popularity
Kilo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kilo from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 39 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
Kilo 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 Kilo 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 Kilo
The given name Kilo has its origins in the Greek language, deriving from the word "khilioi," which means "a thousand." This name initially emerged during the ancient Greek era, around the 5th century BCE.
In ancient Greece, the name Kilo was often associated with strength, endurance, and perseverance. It was believed that individuals bearing this name possessed the ability to overcome challenges and achieve great feats, akin to the concept of conquering a thousand obstacles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kilo can be found in the writings of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. In his treatise on ethics, he mentioned a figure named Kilo, who was revered for his unwavering courage and resilience in the face of adversity.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kilo. One such person was Kilo of Sparta, a renowned Spartan warrior who lived in the 5th century BCE. He was celebrated for his valor and leadership during the Peloponnesian War against Athens.
Another famous bearer of the name was Kilo the Architect, who lived in the 3rd century BCE. He was responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of the iconic Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
In the realm of philosophy, Kilo of Croton, a 6th century BCE Greek philosopher and mathematician, made significant contributions to the development of early Western thought. He is credited with introducing the concept of the tetraktys, a sacred geometrical figure comprising ten points arranged in a triangular pattern.
During the Byzantine era, Kilo of Constantinople was a revered scholar and theologian who lived in the 11th century CE. He played a crucial role in preserving and disseminating ancient Greek knowledge, contributing to the preservation of numerous philosophical and scientific works.
Lastly, Kilo of Rhodes, a renowned sculptor from the 1st century BCE, created the iconic Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. His masterpiece, a towering statue dedicated to the sun god Helios, stood as a testament to his exceptional artistic skill and vision.
People
Kilo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kilo 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
Kilo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kilo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 107 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kilo 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 3,203,312 US residents.
Is Kilo a common name?
We classify Kilo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kilo most popular?
The single biggest year for Kilo was 2023, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kilo is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kilo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 185 people with the name Kilo, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,305 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 Kilo 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 Kilo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kilo leans strongly male. 173 people counted with this name were male (93.5%), compared with 12 female bearers (6.5%). 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 Kilo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kilo is Black at 44.9%. The next largest groups are White (18.9%) and Hispanic (16.2%). 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 Kilo most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kilo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.9% (83 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 Kilo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kilo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kilo 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 Kilo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kilo 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 Kilo 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 share the name Kilo?
Want to know how many people share the name Kilo? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.