Kamala
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "lotus" or "pale red".
Name Census estimates that about 1,157 living Americans carry the first name Kamala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kamala today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kamala births was 1964 (105 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kamala. 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 Kamala with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 296,244 Americans
Peak year
1964
105 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,146
Tracked since 1955
Census
Kamala in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,779 people with the first name Kamala, which placed it at #5,928 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
#5,928
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,779 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
52.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kamala
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kamala is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.2%. The next largest groups are White (24.9%) and Black (14.6%). 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 Kamala 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 Kamala at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander52.2% · 1,452
- White24.9% · 692
- Black or African American14.6% · 406
- Two or more races4.5% · 126
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 86
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 17
Popularity
Kamala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kamala from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 463 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kamala 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 Kamala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kamalas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Kamala, while Oklahoma, North Carolina, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kamala
Kamala is a name with its origins in the Sanskrit language, tracing back to ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit words "kamal" or "kamala," meaning lotus or pale red lotus flower. The lotus holds immense significance in Hindu mythology and culture, symbolizing divine beauty, purity, and spiritual enlightenment.
The name Kamala finds its earliest historical references in Hindu religious texts and ancient Sanskrit literature. In the Puranas, a collection of ancient Hindu scriptures, Kamala is one of the names given to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, the embodiment of beauty, prosperity, and good fortune. The lotus is closely associated with Lakshmi, and she is often depicted sitting or standing on a lotus flower.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kamala is found in the ancient Indian epic, the Ramayana, which dates back to the 7th or 8th century BCE. In this epic, Kamala is the name of a celestial nymph, revered for her beauty and grace.
Throughout history, the name Kamala has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Kamala Devi (1902-1988), an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who played a pivotal role in the Indian independence movement alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Another prominent figure was Kamala Markandaya (1924-2004), an Indian novelist and journalist who gained international acclaim for her novels depicting the struggles and challenges faced by women in a rapidly changing India.
In the realm of performing arts, Kamala Lakshmi (1940-2004) was a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer, known for her contributions to the revival and promotion of the Bharatanatyam dance form.
Kamala Das (1934-2009) was a celebrated Indian English poet and writer, recognized for her honest and candid exploration of themes such as love, desire, and the complexities of relationships.
Kamala Nehru (1899-1936), the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru, was an influential figure in the Indian independence movement and an ardent supporter of women's rights and education.
While the name Kamala has its roots in ancient India and Hindu culture, it has transcended borders and gained popularity across various regions and communities worldwide, symbolizing the enduring appeal of the lotus as a symbol of beauty, purity, and spiritual awakening.
People
Kamala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kamala 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
Kamala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kamala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,157 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kamala 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 296,244 US residents.
Is Kamala a common name?
We classify Kamala as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,285 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kamala most popular?
The single biggest year for Kamala was 1964, when 105 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kamala is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kamala in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,779 people with the name Kamala, or 0.92 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,928 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 Kamala 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 Kamala?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kamala leans strongly female. 2,737 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 47 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Kamala?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kamala is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.2%. The next largest groups are White (24.9%) and Black (14.6%). 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 Kamala most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kamala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.2% (1,452 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 Kamala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kamala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kamala in the SSA data are female. 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 Kamala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kamala 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 Kamala 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 common is the name Kamala?
See how many people share the name Kamala on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.