Kushal
An Indian masculine name meaning skilled, adept, or proficient.
Name Census estimates that about 506 living Americans carry the first name Kushal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kushal today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kushal births was 2004 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kushal. 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 Kushal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
506
~ 1 in 677,380 Americans
Peak year
2004
24 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,775
Tracked since 1988
Census
Kushal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,216 people with the first name Kushal, which placed it at #10,794 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
#10,794
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,216 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kushal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kushal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.5%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Kushal 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 Kushal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.5% · 1,149
- White2.1% · 25
- Two or more races1.6% · 19
- Black or African American1.2% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.1% · 1
Popularity
Kushal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kushal from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 176 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kushal remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kushal 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 Kushal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kushals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kushal
The name Kushal is derived from the Sanskrit language, originating in ancient India. It is believed to have been in use as early as the 5th century BCE. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "kushal," which means "skilled," "proficient," or "well-versed." It is often associated with qualities such as intelligence, expertise, and excellence.
In Hindu mythology, the name Kushal is mentioned in various ancient texts and scriptures, such as the Puranas and the Upanishads. It is believed that the name was commonly used among the Brahmin community, who were known for their scholarly pursuits and expertise in various fields.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kushal can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Sanskrit epic dating back to around the 8th or 9th century BCE. In the epic, Kushal is mentioned as the name of a sage or a wise person.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kushal. One of the earliest recorded examples is Kushal Pal, a renowned Indian astronomer and mathematician who lived in the 7th century CE. He is credited with contributing to the development of Indian astronomy and mathematics during the Gupta period.
Another notable figure was Kushal Singh, a Rajput ruler of the Sisodia dynasty who reigned in the 16th century CE. He was known for his military prowess and served as the ruler of the Mewar region in present-day Rajasthan, India.
In more recent times, Kushal Pal Singh (1901-1985) was an Indian politician and freedom fighter who played an active role in the Indian independence movement. He served as the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh from 1967 to 1968.
Kushal Konwar Sarma (1933-2016) was a renowned Assamese writer, poet, and dramatist from the Indian state of Assam. He made significant contributions to the literary world and was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award, one of the highest literary honors in India, in 1988.
Kushal Das (1913-1986) was an Indian classical vocalist and exponent of the Khyal style of Hindustani classical music. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, for his contributions to music in 1971.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Kushal, reflecting its linguistic and cultural roots in ancient India and its association with qualities such as skill, expertise, and proficiency.
People
Kushal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kushal 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
Kushal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kushal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 506 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kushal 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 677,380 US residents.
Is Kushal a common name?
We classify Kushal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 512 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kushal most popular?
The single biggest year for Kushal was 2004, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kushal 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 Kushal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,216 people with the name Kushal, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,794 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 Kushal 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 Kushal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kushal leans strongly male. 1,189 people counted with this name were male (97.1%), compared with 35 female 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 Kushal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kushal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.5%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Kushal most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kushal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (1,149 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 Kushal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kushal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kushal 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 Kushal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kushal 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 Kushal 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 are called Kushal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.