Kadia
An invented name of unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 157 living Americans carry the first name Kadia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kadia today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kadia births was 1998 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kadia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
157
~ 1 in 2,183,149 Americans
Peak year
1998
13 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2020 SSA rank
#11,566
Tracked since 1987
Census
Kadia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 333 people with the first name Kadia, which placed it at #27,468 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,468
National first-name rank
People counted
333
333 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
70.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kadia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadia is Black at 70.3%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Hispanic (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kadia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kadia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.3% · 234
- White17.4% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 17
- Two or more races5.1% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Kadia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kadia from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 54 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kadia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kadia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kadia
The name Kadia is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with its roots tracing back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "qadir," which means "powerful" or "able." The name is thought to have been first used in regions where Arabic culture and language had a significant influence, such as the Middle East and parts of North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Kadia can be found in historical accounts from the 8th century CE, where it was used to refer to a prominent female figure in the Islamic world. However, the details surrounding this individual are scarce, and their significance in history has been lost over time.
During the medieval period, the name Kadia gained popularity in certain parts of the Middle East and North Africa. It was often associated with individuals from influential families or those who held positions of power and authority within their respective communities.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Kadia bint al-Hajj, a scholar and poet, gained recognition for her literary works and contributions to the intellectual discourse of the time. Her exact birth and death dates are unknown, but her legacy as a prominent literary figure has been preserved through her writings.
Another historical figure who bore the name Kadia was Kadia al-Andalusi, a renowned mathematician and astronomer from the 10th century CE. She made significant contributions to the development of mathematical theories and astronomical observations during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. Her birth and death years are not precisely recorded, but her achievements in the fields of mathematics and astronomy have been widely recognized.
In the 15th century, a woman named Kadia al-Fasi rose to prominence as a respected scholar and jurist in the city of Fez, Morocco. She was known for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her teachings, which attracted students from various parts of the region. While the exact dates of her life are uncertain, her influence on the intellectual and legal spheres of her time has been well-documented.
Another notable figure who carried the name Kadia was Kadia bint Ibrahim, a prominent military leader from the 16th century. She played a crucial role in the defense of her homeland against foreign invaders and was celebrated for her bravery and strategic prowess. Unfortunately, the specific details of her life and the exact years of her existence are shrouded in historical uncertainty.
Throughout history, the name Kadia has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields, including literature, science, religion, and warfare. While the origins and specific details surrounding some of these historical figures may be unclear, the name itself has carried a sense of strength, power, and excellence across different cultures and time periods.
People
Kadia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kadia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kadia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kadia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 157 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kadia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,183,149 US residents.
Is Kadia a common name?
We classify Kadia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 160 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kadia most popular?
The single biggest year for Kadia was 1998, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kadia is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kadia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 333 people with the name Kadia, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,468 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kadia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kadia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kadia leans strongly female. 322 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 10 male bearers (3.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kadia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadia is Black at 70.3%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Hispanic (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kadia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kadia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.3% (234 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kadia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kadia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kadia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kadia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kadia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kadia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Kadia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.