Ko
A name from Japanese origin meaning "eldest son" or "child".
Name Census estimates that about 83 living Americans carry the first name Ko. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Ko today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ko births was 2016 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ko. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ko. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
83
~ 1 in 4,129,570 Americans
Peak year
2016
8 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,525
Tracked since 1985
Census
Ko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,260 people with the first name Ko, which placed it at #10,531 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
#10,531
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,260 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
82.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 82.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Black (3.6%). 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 Ko 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 Ko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander82.9% · 1,044
- White8.0% · 101
- Black or African American3.6% · 45
- Two or more races3.4% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Ko
Ko leans heavily male at 88.2% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ko as a male name
- Ranked #11,525 in 2021
- 6 male births in 2021
- Peak: 2016 (8 births)
Ko as a female name
- Ranked #14,644 in 1993
- 5 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1988 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ko on both sides of the split. Of the 1,263 people counted with this name, 894 were male (70.8%) and 369 were female (29.2%).
Popularity
Ko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ko 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 28 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ko remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ko 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 Ko 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 Ko
The name Ko has its origins in various cultures and languages across the world. It is a short and simple monosyllabic name that can be traced back to ancient times.
In Japanese culture, the name Ko is often used as a suffix or prefix in compound names, meaning "child" or "small." It is derived from the Japanese word "kodomo," which means "child." Some historical examples of Japanese names with the element Ko include Kojiro, a famous samurai swordsman in the 17th century, and Koko, a legendary empress of Japan who ruled in the 3rd century.
In Chinese culture, the name Ko is a common transliteration of the Chinese character "???," which can have various meanings such as "ancient," "old," or "venerable." It is often used as a surname, but it can also be found as a given name. One notable historical figure with the name Ko was Ko Hung, a renowned Taoist philosopher and alchemist who lived in the 4th century.
In Korean culture, the name Ko can be derived from the Korean word "go," which means "high" or "lofty." It is sometimes used as a surname or as part of a compound name. A famous Korean figure with the name Ko was Ko Yu-sil, a celebrated poet and scholar during the Goryeo Dynasty in the 12th century.
In Indian cultures, the name Ko is sometimes associated with the Sanskrit word "koh," meaning "mountain" or "peak." It can also be a shortened form of names like Komal or Koushik. One notable historical figure with the name Ko was Ko Samui, a legendary Thai prince and warrior from the 17th century.
In Hawaiian culture, the name Ko can be derived from the Hawaiian word "ko'o," meaning "staff" or "support." It is a common element in Hawaiian names and can be found in the name of the Hawaiian chief Ko'olau, who led a rebellion against the Hawaiian monarchy in the 19th century.
These are just a few examples of the diverse cultural and linguistic origins of the name Ko. Throughout history, there have been many notable figures who have borne this name, reflecting its widespread use and versatility across various regions and traditions.
People
Ko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ko 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
Ko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 83 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ko 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 4,129,570 US residents.
Is Ko a common name?
We classify Ko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ko most popular?
The single biggest year for Ko was 2016, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ko is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,260 people with the name Ko, or 0.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,531 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 Ko 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 Ko?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ko on both sides of the split. Of the 1,263 people counted with this name, 894 were male (70.8%) and 369 were female (29.2%). 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 Ko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ko is Asian/Pacific Islander at 82.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Black (3.6%). 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 Ko most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.9% (1,044 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 Ko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ko a male name?
Yes, 88.2% of people registered as Ko 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 Ko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ko 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 Ko 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 the name Ko?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.