Koula
A Greek diminutive form of the feminine name Nikolina, meaning "victorious people".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Koula. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Koula today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Koula births was 1923 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Koula. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Koula. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1923
8 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1977 SSA rank
#9,016
Tracked since 1917
Census
Koula in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 232 people with the first name Koula, which placed it at #34,960 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
#34,960
National first-name rank
People counted
232
232 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
94.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Koula
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Koula is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Koula 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 Koula at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 220
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 8
- Black or African American1.7% · 4
Popularity
Koula: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Koula from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 33 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Koula remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Koula 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 Koula 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 Koula
The name Koula is a diminutive form of the Greek name Nikolaos, which is derived from the Greek words "niko" meaning "victory" and "laos" meaning "people." It is a feminine variation of the masculine name Nikolaos and is commonly used in Greece and other areas with Greek cultural influence.
The name Koula has its roots in the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, as Nikolaos was a 4th-century Christian saint and Bishop of Myra in modern-day Turkey. Saint Nikolaos was renowned for his generosity and devotion to helping the poor and needy, which contributed to his immense popularity and the widespread use of his name throughout the Eastern Orthodox world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Koula can be traced back to the 10th century, when it appeared in Byzantine historical records. During the Byzantine Empire, the name Koula was popular among Greek families, particularly those with strong Christian faith and ties to the Orthodox Church.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Koula. One such individual was Koula Pratsika (1850-1926), a Greek philanthropist and feminist who fought for women's rights and education in Greece. Another was Koula Paraska (1878-1940), a renowned Greek singer and actress who performed in various theater productions and operas during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the 20th century, Koula Agagiotou (1911-2001) was a prominent Greek actress and singer who appeared in numerous Greek films and stage productions. Koula Bakoyannis (1921-2008) was a Greek politician and the first woman to serve as the Mayor of Athens, holding office from 1975 to 1979.
More recently, Koula Harhalakis (1939-2019) was a Greek-American businesswoman and philanthropist who co-founded the iconic Golden Apple Restaurant in Chicago, which became a culinary landmark and gathering place for the Greek-American community.
While the name Koula is primarily associated with Greek culture and the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, its origins and historical significance have contributed to its enduring popularity across various regions and communities with Greek cultural influences.
People
Koula + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Koula 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
Koula: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Koula?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Koula 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Koula a common name?
We classify Koula as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Koula most popular?
The single biggest year for Koula was 1923, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Koula is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Koula in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 232 people with the name Koula, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,960 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 Koula 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 Koula?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Koula leans strongly female. 231 people counted with this name were female (97.1%), compared with 7 male bearers (2.9%). 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 Koula?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Koula is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Koula most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Koula in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (220 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 Koula in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Koula a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Koula 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 Koula still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Koula 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 Koula 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 Koula as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.