Kol
A masculine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "charcoal" or "black".
Name Census estimates that about 433 living Americans carry the first name Kol. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kol today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kol births was 2021 (50 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kol. 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
433
~ 1 in 791,580 Americans
Peak year
2021
50 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,352
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Kol: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kol from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 199 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
Kol 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 Kol during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kols live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Indiana, New York recorded the most babies named Kol, while New York, Indiana, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kol
The name Kol is derived from the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-European languages spoken in ancient India. The name can be traced back to the 5th century BCE, and it is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit word "kola," which means "branch" or "shoot."
In ancient Hindu mythology, Kol was the name of a sage or rishi who was known for his wisdom and spiritual teachings. He is mentioned in the Puranas, which are ancient Hindu texts that were composed between the 3rd and 10th centuries CE.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Kol can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Hindu epic poem that dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In the epic, there is a character named Kol Bhrigu, who was a renowned sage and the founder of the Bhrigu clan.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kol. One of the most famous was Kol Kavat, a 7th-century CE Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry.
Another prominent figure was Kol Nidre, a 13th-century Jewish scholar and composer who is best known for the prayer Kol Nidrei, which is recited on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
In the 16th century, there was Kol Bahadur, a Rajput warrior and military commander who served under the Mughal Empire in India. He was renowned for his bravery and loyalty to the Mughal ruler Akbar the Great.
In the 19th century, Kol Nath was a Hindu saint and spiritual leader who founded the Kol Nath Sampraday, a spiritual movement that emphasized the importance of devotion and service to humanity.
Another notable figure was Kol Seman, a 20th-century Indonesian writer and activist who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence from Dutch colonial rule.
People
Kol + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kol 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
Kol: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kol?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 433 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kol 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 791,580 US residents.
Is Kol a common name?
We classify Kol as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 436 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kol most popular?
The single biggest year for Kol was 2021, when 50 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kol is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kol a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kol 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.
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.