Koa

What Koa means

Hawaiian, meaning “warrior, courage; koa tree”

koa (“warrior, courage; koa tree”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Koa” (revision 81777645), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Koa?

US: Rising: up from #1157 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #2150 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 1,281 boys got the name (#269 that year). First in the US records in 1978.

How common

• About 1 in 1,333 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,050 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 677 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in HI (7.54 per 1,000 boys), AK (2.64 per 1,000 boys), DE (2.04 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Koa is #269 in the US and #199 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 90.7% of US babies named Koa were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Kai3,768 US · 672 E&W
• Koah260 US · 51 E&W
• Coy123 US
• Koe104 US
• Koi40 US
• Ky31 US
• Coe24 US
• Koy18 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Koa

Boys

• Bodhi#265Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1976, with 5 babies
• Callum#118Variant of Calum, meaning “dove”^*
• Legend#193Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #391 in 2015, #193 in 2025
• Bodie#275Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #958 in 2015, #275 in 2025
• Zayn#251“beauty”^*
• River#111From the word “river”^*

For a sister

• Saylor#217“dancer, acrobat”^*
• Palmer#232“a pilgrim from the Holy Land”^*
• Maeve#76“intoxicating”^*
• Juniper#100Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #427 in 2015, #100 in 2025
• Aspen#266Editor’s note Used for both: 82% of US babies named Aspen in 2025 were girls
• Alani#161Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #529 in 2015, #161 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Koa’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.