Kotah
A masculine name of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Kotah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kotah today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kotah births was 2023 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kotah. 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 Kotah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2023
6 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,331
Tracked since 2023
Popularity
Kotah: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kotah 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 Kotah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kotah
The name Kotah has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the classical literary language of ancient India. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "kota," which means "fort" or "fortified place." The name likely emerged during the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) when Sanskrit was the predominant language across the Indian subcontinent.
In ancient Indian texts, the name Kotah is often associated with locations or settlements that were fortified for defensive purposes. Some historical references suggest that the name may have been used to identify individuals who hailed from or resided in such fortified areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kotah can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic poem dating back to around the 4th century BCE. The Mahabharata mentions a character named Kotah, who was a warrior and a skilled archer. However, little is known about the historical accuracy of this reference.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kotah. One of the most famous was Kotah Raja, a 16th-century ruler of the Kotah princely state in present-day Rajasthan, India. He reigned from 1571 to 1624 and was known for his military prowess and administrative reforms.
Another notable figure was Kotah Sadasiva Nayudu (1900–1970), an Indian cricketer who played for the Madras Presidency in the early 20th century. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler.
In the realm of literature, Kotah Anbazhagan (1917–2002) was a prominent Tamil writer and novelist from Tamil Nadu, India. He was known for his works that explored social issues and portrayed the lives of the underprivileged.
Kotah Saliq (born 1940) is a renowned Pakistani writer and poet. He has published several collections of poetry and prose and is considered a prominent figure in the Punjabi literary world.
Lastly, Kotah Heru Wibowo (1937–2015) was an Indonesian military officer and politician who served as the Governor of East Java from 1993 to 1998. He played a significant role in the political and administrative affairs of the region during his tenure.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Kotah, reflecting its diverse cultural and linguistic origins.
People
Kotah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kotah 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
Kotah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kotah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kotah 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Kotah a common name?
We classify Kotah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kotah most popular?
The single biggest year for Kotah was 2023, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kotah is about 3 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kotah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kotah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kotah 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 Kotah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kotah 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 Kotah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Kotah?
See how many people share the name Kotah on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.