Koben
A masculine name of Japanese origin meaning "golden, grand scholar".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Koben. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Koben today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Koben births was 2019 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Koben. 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 Koben with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
2019
13 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,697
Tracked since 1998
Census
Koben in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 162 people with the first name Koben, which placed it at #43,512 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
#43,512
National first-name rank
People counted
162
162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Koben
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Koben is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.3%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Koben 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 Koben at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.4% · 114
- Two or more races9.3% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 13
- Black or African American7.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
Popularity
Koben: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Koben from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 69 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Koben 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 Koben during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kobens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Koben
The name Koben is a unique and intriguing moniker with a rich history that spans across various cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Germanic languages, where it was derived from the combination of two words: "ko," meaning "cow," and "benn," meaning "warrior" or "fighter." This suggests that the name may have initially been bestowed upon individuals who possessed strength, resilience, and a formidable spirit akin to a mighty warrior.
In the early medieval period, the name Koben gained prominence among the Germanic tribes that inhabited the regions of modern-day Germany and the Netherlands. It was a name often given to sons born into noble families, as it symbolized the virtues of courage and valor that were highly valued in those warrior societies.
While the name may not have been explicitly mentioned in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has left its mark on historical records and chronicles. One of the earliest documented instances of the name Koben can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a medieval manuscript dating back to the 9th century, which recorded the names of landowners and nobles in the region of Westphalia.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Koben, contributing to its enduring legacy. One such figure was Koben von Ravensburg (1345-1412), a German military commander who gained fame for his exploits during the Hussite Wars. Another was Koben Heidemann (1568-1629), a Dutch merchant and navigator who played a pivotal role in establishing trade routes between the Dutch East Indies and Europe.
In the realm of literature, Koben Kramer (1792-1862) was a celebrated German poet and playwright whose works were influential in shaping the Romantic movement. Koben Schönfeld (1840-1912), on the other hand, was a renowned German botanist and explorer who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Africa and South America.
The name Koben also found its way into the artistic world, with Koben Müller (1875-1945) being a notable German painter and printmaker whose works captured the beauty of rural landscapes and everyday life.
While these historical figures may have lived in different eras and pursued diverse paths, they all shared the common thread of bearing the name Koben, which has endured through the ages as a symbol of strength, resilience, and a connection to the ancient Germanic heritage.
People
Koben + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Koben 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
Koben: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Koben?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Koben 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Koben a common name?
We classify Koben as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 165 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Koben most popular?
The single biggest year for Koben was 2019, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Koben 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 Koben in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 162 people with the name Koben, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,512 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 Koben 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 Koben?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Koben leans strongly male. 156 people counted with this name were male (98.7%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.3%). 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 Koben?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Koben is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.3%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Koben most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Koben in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.4% (114 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 Koben in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Koben a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Koben 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 Koben still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Koben 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 Koben 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 Koben as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Koben on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.