Kavin
A masculine name of uncertain origins, potentially derived from Tamil.
Name Census estimates that about 2,770 living Americans carry the first name Kavin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kavin today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kavin births was 2010 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kavin. 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 Kavin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.8K
~ 1 in 123,738 Americans
Peak year
2010
95 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,362
Tracked since 1950
Census
Kavin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,577 people with the first name Kavin, which placed it at #6,261 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
#6,261
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,577 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
41.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kavin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kavin is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.0%. The next largest groups are White (24.6%) and Black (21.4%). 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 Kavin 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 Kavin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander41.0% · 1,056
- White24.6% · 635
- Black or African American21.4% · 552
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 202
- Two or more races4.1% · 106
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 26
Popularity
Kavin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kavin from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 762 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kavin 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 Kavin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kavins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Kavin, while Washington, Pennsylvania, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kavin
The given name Kavin has its origins in the Tamil language, which is one of the oldest classical languages in the world, spoken predominantly in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The name is derived from the Tamil word "Kavindhan," which means "poet" or "scholar."
Historically, the name Kavin was associated with individuals who possessed a deep knowledge of literature, poetry, and the arts. In ancient Tamil literature, there are references to poets and scholars who bore this name, indicating its cultural significance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kavin can be traced back to the 7th century CE, when a Tamil poet and scholar named Kavin authored several literary works that are still studied and revered today.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Kavin. One such figure was Kavin Sundaram (1892-1971), a renowned Indian writer, poet, and social reformer who played a significant role in the Tamil literary renaissance of the early 20th century.
Another notable Kavin was Kavin Ramasamy (1877-1954), a prominent Indian lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1936.
In the realm of sports, Kavin Bharathi (born 1988) is a former Indian cricketer who represented Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket tournaments.
The name Kavin also has religious connotations, as it is mentioned in some Hindu scriptures and texts. In the ancient Tamil epic Silappadikaram, one of the characters is named Kavin, a prince known for his wisdom and poetic talents.
Beyond India, the name Kavin has also found its way into other cultures and languages. In Sri Lanka, for instance, the name is sometimes spelled as "Kavyn" or "Kaveen," reflecting the influence of Tamil culture in the region.
While the name Kavin has its roots in the Tamil language and culture, its meaning and association with knowledge, poetry, and the arts have transcended geographical boundaries, making it a name that carries a rich historical and cultural significance.
People
Kavin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kavin 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
Kavin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kavin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,770 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kavin 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 123,738 US residents.
Is Kavin a common name?
We classify Kavin as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,907 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kavin most popular?
The single biggest year for Kavin was 2010, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kavin is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kavin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,577 people with the name Kavin, or 0.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,261 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 Kavin 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 Kavin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kavin leans strongly male. 2,508 people counted with this name were male (97.7%), compared with 58 female bearers (2.3%). 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 Kavin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kavin is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.0%. The next largest groups are White (24.6%) and Black (21.4%). 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 Kavin most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kavin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.0% (1,056 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 Kavin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kavin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kavin 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 Kavin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kavin 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 Kavin 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 Kavin?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Kavin, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.