Kadan
A gender-neutral name of Arabic origin meaning "someone's dear one".
Name Census estimates that about 491 living Americans carry the first name Kadan. It is a predominantly male name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Kadan today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kadan births was 2005 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kadan. 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 Kadan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
491
~ 1 in 698,074 Americans
Peak year
2005
47 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,324
Tracked since 1994
Census
Kadan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 500 people with the first name Kadan, which placed it at #20,593 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
#20,593
National first-name rank
People counted
500
500 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kadan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadan is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.2%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Kadan 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 Kadan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.8% · 304
- Black or African American17.2% · 86
- Two or more races8.6% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Kadan
Kadan leans heavily male at 98.6% of total registrations, but 7 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kadan as a male name
- Ranked #9,324 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2006 (44 births)
Kadan as a female name
- Ranked #13,682 in 2005
- 7 female births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kadan leans strongly male. 463 people counted with this name were male (91.1%), compared with 45 female bearers (8.9%).
Popularity
Kadan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kadan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 287 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kadan 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 Kadan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kadans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kadan
The name Kadan is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages of the world, dating back to around 3500 BCE. The name Kadan is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "kad" which means "to protect" or "to guard", suggesting that the name may have been given to individuals with a strong, protective nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kadan can be found in the Sumerian cuneiform tablets, which were clay tablets used for writing in ancient Mesopotamia. These tablets contain various records, including lists of names, suggesting that the name Kadan was in use during that time period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kadan. One of the earliest known figures was Kadan of Uruk, a Sumerian warrior and military leader who lived in the 3rd millennium BCE. He was renowned for his bravery and skill in battle, and his name became synonymous with strength and protection.
Another prominent figure with the name Kadan was Kadan al-Nuri, a 12th century Islamic scholar and jurist from modern-day Iraq. He was known for his extensive knowledge of Islamic law and his contributions to the field of jurisprudence. His works were widely studied and influential in the Islamic world during that time.
In the realm of literature, Kadan al-Baghdadi was a renowned 9th century Arabic poet and writer from Baghdad. His poetic works were celebrated for their beauty and eloquence, and he is considered one of the most influential poets of the Abbasid era.
Moving forward in time, Kadan Singh was a 17th century Rajput warrior and military commander from the Indian subcontinent. He was known for his loyalty, bravery, and strategic skills on the battlefield, and his name is still revered among the Rajput community.
In more recent history, Kadan Yazdani was an Iranian painter and artist who lived in the late 20th century. He was renowned for his vibrant and expressive works, which often depicted Persian culture and traditions. His paintings are celebrated for their unique style and their ability to capture the essence of Iranian life.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Kadan. While the name may have originated in ancient Sumerian culture, it has been adopted and used across various regions and cultures, each adding their own unique interpretations and meanings to this powerful and enduring name.
People
Kadan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kadan 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
Kadan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kadan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 491 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kadan 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 698,074 US residents.
Is Kadan a common name?
We classify Kadan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 496 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kadan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kadan was 2005, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kadan is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kadan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 500 people with the name Kadan, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,593 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 Kadan 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 Kadan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kadan leans strongly male. 463 people counted with this name were male (91.1%), compared with 45 female bearers (8.9%). 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 Kadan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadan is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.2%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Kadan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kadan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.8% (304 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 Kadan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kadan a male name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Kadan 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 Kadan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kadan 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 Kadan 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 have the name Kadan?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Kadan, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.