Kross
A combination of the name "Kris" and a variant of "cross".
Name Census estimates that about 1,404 living Americans carry the first name Kross. It is a predominantly male name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Kross today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kross births was 2022 (207 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kross. 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
- • Kross is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 244,127 Americans
Peak year
2022
207 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,311
Tracked since 1997
Gender
Gender distribution for Kross
Kross leans heavily male at 97.0% of total registrations, but 42 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kross as a male name
- Ranked #1,311 in 2024
- 148 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (195 births)
Kross as a female name
- Ranked #16,517 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (12 births)
Popularity
Kross: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kross from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 935 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
Kross 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 Kross during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kross' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, California recorded the most babies named Kross, while Nevada, Kentucky, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kross
The name Kross has its origins rooted in the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples who inhabited Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe during the Viking Age, from around the 8th to the 11th centuries. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse word "kross," which means "cross" or "crucifix."
The use of the name Kross can be traced back to the early days of Christianity's spread in Scandinavia, where the cross became a prominent symbol of the new faith. It's likely that the name was initially given to individuals who were born or baptized near a prominent cross or crucifix, or who had a special connection to the religious symbol.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kross can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of literary works that document the lives and adventures of the Norse people during the Viking era. The Saga of Erik the Red, written in the 13th century, mentions a character named Kross, who was a prominent farmer and landowner in Greenland.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Kross. One of the most famous was Kross Nökkvi (c. 1130 - c. 1200), an Icelandic skald (poet) and lawspeaker who is credited with composing several poetic works that have survived to this day. Another notable Kross was Kross Helgason (1510 - 1576), an Icelandic scholar and clergyman who played a crucial role in the Reformation in Iceland.
In the realm of exploration and discovery, Kross Magnusson (1577 - 1638) was a Danish-Norwegian explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Arctic regions, including the search for the Northwest Passage. Kross Jónsson (1643 - 1719) was an Icelandic mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of comets and the calculation of planetary orbits.
More recently, Kross Árnason (1887 - 1971) was an Icelandic politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Iceland from 1944 to 1949, playing a pivotal role in the country's transition to a republic after centuries of Danish rule.
People
Kross + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kross 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
Kross: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kross?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,404 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kross 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 244,127 US residents.
Is Kross a common name?
We classify Kross as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,415 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kross most popular?
The single biggest year for Kross was 2022, when 207 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kross is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kross a male name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Kross 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.