Kamala
Feminine · “Sanskrit kamala”
The lotus grows out of mud and comes up clean, which is why it is the standard image for purity in Indian thought. Kamala is one of its names, and it is also a name of Lakshmi, who is shown seated on one.
How old is the name Kamala?
Kamala first appears in US birth records in 1955 — 70 years ago. The typical Kamala alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 1,200 people named Kamala are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kamala most popular?
Kamala peaked in 1964, reaching #1060 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 8,397 places below that high. See the whole 1964 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From kamala to Kamala
The story of Kamala
The lotus does something no other plant in the Indian landscape does: it roots in mud at the bottom of a pond, grows up through the water, and opens above the surface with no dirt on it at all. The leaves shed water and silt completely, a property now studied by materials scientists as the lotus effect. That behavior made it the central image of the tradition: something that arises from the world without being stained by it. Vishnu, Lakshmi and Brahma are all shown with lotuses, the Buddha is seated on one, the chakras of the yogic body are described as lotuses with different numbers of petals, and the best known Buddhist mantra names the jewel in the lotus. The image is doing work in every case, and it is always the same work: contact without contamination.
Meaning
Sanskrit kamala, lotus
Kamala is Sanskrit for lotus and is an epithet of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, who is depicted seated or standing on one. The word is also used for the color pale red. Padma is the other and commoner Sanskrit word for the flower. The name is used across India and in Tamil, Bengali and Hindi-speaking families alike. The American peak is 1964.
How the name formed
- kamala
- Kamala
Related forms: Kamala · Kamla · Kamala
Pronouncing Kamala
KAH-mah-lah
Three syllables, stress on the first in Sanskrit. American speakers often say kuh-MAH-lah with the stress in the middle. Both are heard.
Nicknames for Kamala
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
- 1955
- Most girls named
- 1964105 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1060reached in 1964
- Change vs 2024
- −23.1%10 in 2025, from 13
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.
Kamala in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kamala in Sanskrit — same name
- Kamla in Hindi — spelling variant
- Kamala in Tamil — same name
Kamalas among us
people named Kamala are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Kamala
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Rickie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kamala's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rickie climbed just as high around 1947, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rickie's path sketches the road Kamala is walking now.
Kamala 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
Kamala beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kamala in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is a single concrete image with deep documented significance.
- Kam works as a short form.
- Three open syllables give it an even rhythm.
- Indian and American speakers stress it differently.
- It is easily confused with Camila and Pamela in English.
- It carries a specific religious association.
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What they receive
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Kamala
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kamalas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Kamala are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kamala in 2025?
- Kamala ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kamala?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Kamala — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kamala with classmates?
- Kamala will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kamala
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kamala? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kamala and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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