Koltan
Man of courage or bravery; a strong, masculine given name.
Name Census estimates that about 249 living Americans carry the first name Koltan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Koltan today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Koltan births was 2013 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Koltan. 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
249
~ 1 in 1,376,523 Americans
Peak year
2013
20 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,301
Tracked since 1991
Census
Koltan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 222 people with the first name Koltan, which placed it at #35,960 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
#35,960
National first-name rank
People counted
222
222 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Koltan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Koltan is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Koltan 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 Koltan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 198
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 8
- Two or more races3.6% · 8
- Black or African American2.7% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
Popularity
Koltan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Koltan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 113 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
Koltan 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 Koltan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Koltan
The name Koltan is believed to have originated in the ancient Slavic cultures of Eastern Europe. It is derived from the Proto-Slavic root words "kol," meaning "tree trunk" or "pole," and "tan," meaning "honor" or "esteem." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were regarded with high esteem or respect within their communities, perhaps as leaders or distinguished members.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Koltan can be found in the chronicles of the Kievan Rus', a medieval East Slavic state that existed from the 9th to the 13th century. These chronicles document the exploits of Koltan the Brave, a renowned warrior and military commander who fought alongside Prince Svyatoslav I in his campaigns against the Khazars and Bulgars in the 960s.
During the Middle Ages, the name Koltan gained popularity among the noble families of the Principality of Halych-Volhynia, a successor state to the Kievan Rus' located in modern-day western Ukraine and eastern Poland. Koltan Danylovych, a prominent prince who ruled from 1264 to 1301, was known for his efforts to strengthen the principality's defenses against the Mongol invasions.
In the 15th century, a Koltan Ivanovich was recorded as a respected scholar and scribe in the court of Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow. His contributions to the preservation and dissemination of ancient manuscripts played a significant role in the cultural Renaissance of the Muscovite Rus'.
The name Koltan also found its way into the annals of Polish history, with Koltan Zamoyski (1588-1638) being a notable figure. He was a Polish nobleman, military commander, and diplomat who played a crucial role in the Polish-Swedish War and the Smolensk War against Russia.
Another prominent individual bearing the name Koltan was Koltan Skirmunt (1720-1792), a Lithuanian nobleman and statesman who served as the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania and was known for his advocacy of political reforms and educational initiatives during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
While the name Koltan may have lost some of its widespread usage in more recent times, it remains a significant part of the cultural heritage and historical legacy of the Slavic peoples, particularly those of Eastern European descent.
People
Koltan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Koltan 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
Koltan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Koltan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 249 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Koltan 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 1,376,523 US residents.
Is Koltan a common name?
We classify Koltan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 252 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Koltan most popular?
The single biggest year for Koltan was 2013, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Koltan is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Koltan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 222 people with the name Koltan, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,960 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 Koltan 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 Koltan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Koltan appears almost entirely male. Of the 225 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Koltan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Koltan is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Koltan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Koltan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (198 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 Koltan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Koltan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Koltan 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 Koltan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Koltan 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 Koltan 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 Koltan?
See how many Americans are named Koltan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.