Explore the Family Name Kalama

The meaning of Kalama

1. Hawaiian: unexplained. 2. Kenyan: unexplained.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kalama in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Kalama has seen a rise in popularity in the United States. In the year 2000, Kalama was ranked as the 40,335th most popular surname, but this rank improved to 34,110 by 2010, representing a change of 15.43 percent. The count of people with this surname also increased from 511 in 2000 to 666 in 2010, marking a growth of 30.33 percent. Consequently, the proportion of people per 100,000 with the surname Kalama increased by 21.05 percent between these years.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#40,335	#34,110	15.43%
Count	511	666	30.33%
Proportion per 100k	0.19	0.23	21.05%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kalama

Regarding the ethnic identity associated with the surname Kalama, the Census data from 2000 and 2010 shows shifts in its distribution. In 2000, the majority of people with this surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.53 percent, however, this decreased to 25.38 percent in 2010. There was a significant increase in those identifying with two or more races, from 21.33 percent in 2000 to 30.48 percent in 2010. Those identifying as White comprised 14.09 percent in 2000, which slightly dropped to 13.06 percent in 2010. The Hispanic representation marginally increased from 5.28 percent in 2000 to 5.56 percent in 2010. Black representation saw a notable increase from 0.98 percent in 2000 to 3.75 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native experienced an increase from 18.79 percent in 2000 to 21.77 percent in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Two or More Races	21.33%	30.48%	42.9%
Asian/Pacific Islander	39.53%	25.38%	-35.8%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	18.79%	21.77%	15.86%
White	14.09%	13.06%	-7.31%
Hispanic	5.28%	5.56%	5.3%
Black	0.98%	3.75%	282.65%