Korban
A masculine name from the Hebrew meaning "offering" or "sacrifice".
Name Census estimates that about 577 living Americans carry the first name Korban. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Korban today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Korban births was 2017 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Korban. 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 Korban with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
577
~ 1 in 594,028 Americans
Peak year
2017
42 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,453
Tracked since 1993
Census
Korban in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 468 people with the first name Korban, which placed it at #21,612 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
#21,612
National first-name rank
People counted
468
468 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Korban
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Korban is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.1%) and Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Korban 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 Korban at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.6% · 354
- Two or more races8.1% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 33
- Black or African American5.8% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Korban: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Korban from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 286 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Korban remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Korban 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 Korban during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Korbans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Korban
The name Korban originates from the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "qurban," which means "sacrifice" or "offering." The name's roots can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the emergence of the Islamic faith.
Korban is closely associated with the concept of sacrifice in Islamic tradition. In the Quran, the holy book of Islam, the word "qurban" is used to refer to the sacrificial offerings made by the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ismail (Ishmael). This story is a significant part of the Islamic faith and is commemorated during the annual Eid al-Adha festival.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Korban can be found in the historical accounts of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled a vast empire stretching from North Africa to Central Asia between the 8th and 13th centuries CE. During this time, Korban was a name given to individuals who played important roles in religious and political affairs.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Korban. One such individual was Korban Sheykhzade (1470-1537), a prominent Ottoman scholar and poet who contributed significantly to the development of Turkish literature. Another was Korban Bayzavi (1238-1339), a renowned Islamic scholar and theologian from Bukhara, who wrote influential works on jurisprudence and theology.
In the 16th century, Korban Veli (1453-1529) was a famous Sufi poet and mystic from Anatolia, whose works have had a lasting impact on Turkish literature and spirituality. Another notable figure was Korban Beg (1580-1637), a Mughal nobleman and military commander who served under the emperors Akbar and Jahangir in India.
During the 19th century, Korban Mirza (1810-1892) was a prominent Iranian statesman and diplomat who played a crucial role in the modernization efforts of the Qajar dynasty. He was instrumental in establishing diplomatic relations between Iran and various European countries.
While the name Korban has its origins in the Islamic world, it has also been adopted by other cultures and communities over time. However, its deep-rooted connection to the concept of sacrifice and religious significance remains a defining aspect of its meaning and historical significance.
People
Korban + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Korban 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
Korban: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Korban?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 577 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Korban 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 594,028 US residents.
Is Korban a common name?
We classify Korban as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 583 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Korban most popular?
The single biggest year for Korban was 2017, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Korban 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 Korban in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 468 people with the name Korban, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,612 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 Korban 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 Korban?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Korban leans strongly male. 462 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 7 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Korban?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Korban is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.1%) and Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Korban most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Korban in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.6% (354 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 Korban in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Korban a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Korban 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 Korban still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Korban 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 Korban 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 Korban?
Find out how many Americans are named Korban on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.