Korah
Masculine name of Hebrew origin possibly meaning "ice" or "bald head".
Name Census estimates that about 763 living Americans carry the first name Korah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Korah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Korah births was 2018 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Korah. 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 Korah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
763
~ 1 in 449,219 Americans
Peak year
2018
49 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,870
Tracked since 1977
Census
Korah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 619 people with the first name Korah, which placed it at #17,674 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
#17,674
National first-name rank
People counted
619
619 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Korah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Korah is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Black (8.9%). 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 Korah 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 Korah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.2% · 422
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 60
- Black or African American8.9% · 55
- Two or more races7.1% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Korah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Korah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 358 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Korah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Korah 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 Korah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Korahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, Washington recorded the most babies named Korah, while Washington, Ohio, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Korah
The name Korah has its origins in Hebrew, deriving from the biblical figure Korah, who was a cousin of Moses and Aaron mentioned in the Book of Numbers. The name is thought to be derived from the Hebrew word "qarah," meaning "bald" or "ice."
In the biblical narrative, Korah led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, challenging their leadership and authority. This event is known as the "Rebellion of Korah" and is described in Numbers 16. Korah and his followers were ultimately swallowed up by the earth as punishment for their defiance.
The name Korah appears in various ancient texts and religious scriptures, primarily in the Hebrew Bible and related Jewish and Christian traditions. It has been used as a given name throughout history, although its popularity has varied across different cultures and time periods.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Korah was Korah ben Izhak, a prominent Jewish scholar and grammarian who lived in France during the 11th century. He authored several works on Hebrew grammar and biblical exegesis.
In the 16th century, Korah Mordecai Zvi, a Jewish printer and publisher, was active in Cremona, Italy. He published several important works, including a Hebrew translation of the Talmud.
Korah Husein Nushirwan, an Iranian poet and writer, lived in the 17th century and was known for his lyrical poetry and contributions to Persian literature.
In the 19th century, Korah Agajan was an Armenian writer and journalist who played a significant role in the Armenian literary renaissance. He published works on Armenian history and culture.
Korah Wills, born in 1805, was a British architect and surveyor who worked on several notable projects, including the design of the Royal Pavilion Gardens in Brighton.
While the name Korah has biblical and historical roots, its usage as a given name has been relatively uncommon in modern times, particularly in Western cultures. However, it continues to hold significance in certain religious and cultural contexts, serving as a reminder of its rich historical and scriptural background.
People
Korah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Korah 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
Korah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Korah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 763 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Korah 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 449,219 US residents.
Is Korah a common name?
We classify Korah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 772 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Korah most popular?
The single biggest year for Korah was 2018, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Korah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Korah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 619 people with the name Korah, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,674 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 Korah 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 Korah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Korah leans strongly female. 571 people counted with this name were female (92.4%), compared with 47 male bearers (7.6%). 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 Korah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Korah is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Black (8.9%). 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 Korah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Korah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.2% (422 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 Korah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Korah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Korah in the SSA data are female. 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 Korah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Korah 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 Korah 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 named Korah?
Find out how many people share the name Korah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.