Kam

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Kam is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Malay given name48K records spelled Kam3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, United States, Hong Kong, Indonesia

  Languages: Malay, Indonesian

  Also written Ķam

• Korean given name16K records spelled Kam5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea

  Also written 캄, Khâm, Khám, Kham

• a separate given name6.0K records spelled Kam3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, China

  Also written Kaṃ, Ḳam

• Turkish given name4.0K records spelled Kam3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Malaysia, Türkiye, India

  Languages: Turkish, Azerbaijani

  Also written Ķàm

70 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Kam is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• from Dutch and Yiddish kam ‘comb’, hence a metonymic occupational name either for a comb maker or for a wool comber or fuller.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• Reduced form of Dutch van Kam, a habitational name for someone from Chaam (formerly Kam) near Breda.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In Chinese, cringe; weird; awkward

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Indonesian, a surname from Hakka

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, Crooked, awry.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 65 years between 1914–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Pan Qinb. 1424not in their usual nameMing dynasty politician
• Ke Qinb. 1619not in their usual nameQing dynasty person CBDB=84750
• Hoàng Cầmb. 1920VNnot in their usual nameColonel-general of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), Commander of PAVN forces in the Operation Attleboro 1966
• Hoàng Cầmb. 1922VNnot in their usual nameVietnamese poet, writer and playwright (1922–2010)
• Xu Zhiqinb. 1941CNnot in their usual nameChinese structural geologist
• Tsai Chinb. 1957TWnot in their usual nameTaiwanese singer
• Kym Ngb. 1967SGnot in their usual nameSingaporean actress and television presenter
• Liang Qinb. 1972CNnot in their usual nameChinese fencer
• Ning Qinb. 1992CNnot in their usual nameChinese freestyle skier
• Yu Qinnot in their usual nameQing dynasty painter

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 246 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Kam?

We estimate roughly 3.2 thousand people bear Kam (counting its spellings and scripts) across 7 countries in our records.

In which country does Kam have the most bearers?

Kam is most frequently recorded in Malaysia, where it is most often spelled kam.

How common is Kam compared with other names?

In Malaysia, Kam is the 593rd most common given name of 325,158 given names recorded there.

Is Kam a male or female name?

Kam is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Kam mean?

Recorded meaning: Reduced form of Dutch van der Kam, from Middle Dutch kamme ‘brewery’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a brewery or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in one.