Kam
Masculine
Kam is given to both — 968 boys and 385 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Kam is a short American name clipped out of Cameron, Kamari and Kamden, and it has become a registered name in its own right. It is also a genuine name in several other languages.
How old is the name Kam?
Kam first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Kam is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Kam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kam most popular?
Kam peaked in 2016, reaching #2305 nationally. Today it ranks #3450, 1,145 places below that high. See the whole 2016 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kam
Ours, offered as ours. Kam is a good example of a short form outgrowing its parents. It started as a clipping of Cameron, then served Kameron, Kamari, Kamden and Kamron equally well, and eventually stopped needing any of them. Three letters, one hard consonant at each end, and no obligations. That is exactly the shape American naming keeps arriving at when it wants something short — Max, Kai, Jax, Kam — and the pattern is worth noticing.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No single source. As a clipping, it carries whatever the parent name does — Cameron is Scottish, from a Gaelic phrase for a crooked nose. Separately, Kam occurs in Vietnamese and in Cantonese romanisation with their own quite different meanings. None is documented as the source of the standalone American name.
Pronouncing Kam
KAM
One syllable. There is no variation.
Nicknames for Kam
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 201657 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2305reached in 2016
- Change vs 2024
- −19.5%33 in 2025, from 41
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kam in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cameron in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, Louisiana.
Kams among us
people named Kam are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 51,760 born in 2025 was named Kam
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kam
- #3450
- Kam on the 2025 chart
- #764
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kam went to 33 boys in 2025, but Cam is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 164, which makes it the 764th most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,686 places above the chart.
- Cam131
- Kam33
About 1 boy in 10,415 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 51,760 for Kam itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Javis test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kam's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Javis climbed just as high around 1988, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Javis's path sketches the road Kam is walking now.
Kam sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Kam is headed
Kam should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kam beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kam in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters and one syllable — as short as a name gets.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Several longer names stand behind it if a fuller formal option is wanted later.
- It reads as a nickname to most people, which may matter on a formal document.
- Cam with a C is more common and will be written for him.
- A three-letter name gives no room for a nickname of its own.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Kam
Masculine · #3450 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kams are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Kam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kam?
- Kam is one of 2 recorded spellings. Cam is the more common one — 131 births in 2025 against 33 for Kam.
- How popular is the name Kam in 2025?
- Kam ranks #3450 among US boy names in 2025, with 33 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kam?
- About 1 in every 51,760 US boys born in 2025 was named Kam — 33 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kam with classmates?
- Kam will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kam
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sabastian#3450 · Luc#3450 · Deshaun#3450 · Trayvon#3450 · Blade#3450 · Oz#3450 · Josiyah#3450 · Fausto#3450
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kam? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kam and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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