Kove
Meaning "little curve" or "small bay", a possible Scandinavian origin name.
Name Census estimates that about 463 living Americans carry the first name Kove. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Kove today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kove births was 2022 (131 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kove. 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
463
~ 1 in 740,290 Americans
Peak year
2022
131 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,762
Tracked since 2012
Gender
Gender distribution for Kove
Kove is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 466 total registrations, 351 (75.3%) were male and 115 (24.7%) were female.
Kove as a male name
- Ranked #2,762 in 2024
- 47 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (96 births)
Kove as a female name
- Ranked #6,785 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (35 births)
Popularity
Kove: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kove from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 402 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
Kove 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 Kove during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Koves live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Utah, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Kove, while Idaho, Georgia, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kove
The name Kove is believed to have originated from the ancient Germanic language, dating back to the early Middle Ages. Its roots can be traced to the Old High German word "kuobi," which translates to "small tub" or "trough." This etymology suggests that the name may have initially referred to an occupation or trade involving the making or use of small wooden containers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kove can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, Germany. In this text, dated around the 11th century, a person named "Kuovo" is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction.
During the Middle Ages, the name Kove appeared sporadically in various regions of Europe, particularly in areas with Germanic cultural influences. It was often spelled with slight variations, such as "Kuovo," "Kovo," or "Kove."
In the 13th century, a notable individual named Kove von Wittelsbach was a minor nobleman and landowner in Bavaria, Germany. Records indicate that he was involved in local politics and disputes over territorial claims during that period.
Fast-forwarding to the 16th century, Kove Andersson was a Swedish farmer and landowner who lived in the region of Dalarna. He is mentioned in several historical documents related to land disputes and tax records from that time.
In the 17th century, Kove Sørensen was a Danish sailor and explorer who embarked on voyages to the West Indies and the Caribbean. He is credited with being one of the first Danes to establish trade routes and settlements in the region.
During the 18th century, Kove Jansen was a Dutch merchant and trader who established a successful business in the city of Amsterdam. He is known for his involvement in the Dutch East India Company and his contributions to the city's economic development.
In the 19th century, Kove Eriksson was a Norwegian artist and painter who gained recognition for his landscape paintings depicting the rugged beauty of the Norwegian fjords and mountains. His works are preserved in several art museums across Norway.
People
Kove + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kove 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
Kove: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kove?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 463 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kove 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 740,290 US residents.
Is Kove a common name?
We classify Kove as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 466 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kove most popular?
The single biggest year for Kove was 2022, when 131 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kove is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kove a male name?
Yes, 75.3% of people registered as Kove 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.