Kadijah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "an early believer of Islam".
Name Census estimates that about 1,413 living Americans carry the first name Kadijah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kadijah today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kadijah births was 1994 (486 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kadijah. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kadijah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 242,572 Americans
Peak year
1994
486 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,841
Tracked since 1969
Census
Kadijah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,112 people with the first name Kadijah, which placed it at #11,492 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
#11,492
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,112 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kadijah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadijah is Black at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Kadijah 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 Kadijah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.1% · 969
- Two or more races5.1% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 44
- White2.7% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
Popularity
Kadijah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kadijah from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,120 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
Kadijah 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 Kadijah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kadijahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. North Carolina, New York, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kadijah, while Indiana, Arkansas, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 40 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kadijah
The name Kadijah has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing its roots back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "qadara," which means "to be capable" or "to have power." The name carries connotations of strength, capability, and determination.
One of the earliest and most notable historical references to the name Kadijah is found in Islamic tradition. Kadijah was the name of the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad, who played a pivotal role in the early days of Islam. Born in 555 CE in Mecca, Kadijah bint Khuwaylid was a successful businesswoman and respected member of her community. Her marriage to Muhammad in 595 CE was significant, as she became the first person to embrace the Islamic faith and provided unwavering support to her husband during the early years of his prophethood.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Kadijah. One such figure was Kadijah Sidek (1905-1977), a prominent Malaysian author and activist who fought for women's rights and social reform in her country. Her works, including novels and short stories, explored themes of gender equality and challenged traditional societal norms.
Another noteworthy Kadijah was Kadijah Sesay (1935-2009), a Sierra Leonean writer and activist who played a crucial role in promoting literacy and education for women in her country. She founded the Women's Movement for Peace and advocated for girls' access to education, empowering countless individuals through her efforts.
In the realm of literature, Kadijah Rashid (1908-1939) was a pioneering Sudanese poet and writer. Her poetry collection, "The Flame and the Ashes," published in 1934, was one of the first works of modern Arabic literature written by a woman. Her writing explored themes of love, loss, and the challenges faced by women in a patriarchal society.
Kadijah Sessums (1892-1977), an African American educator and civil rights activist, also left a lasting impact on history. She dedicated her life to advocating for equal educational opportunities for Black children and served as the executive secretary of the NAACP's Washington Bureau, playing a crucial role in the fight for desegregation and racial equality.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have borne the name Kadijah throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human experience.
People
Kadijah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kadijah 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
Kadijah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kadijah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,413 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kadijah 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 242,572 US residents.
Is Kadijah a common name?
We classify Kadijah as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,458 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kadijah most popular?
The single biggest year for Kadijah was 1994, when 486 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kadijah is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kadijah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,112 people with the name Kadijah, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,492 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 Kadijah 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 Kadijah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kadijah appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,107 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kadijah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kadijah is Black at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Kadijah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kadijah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (969 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 Kadijah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kadijah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kadijah 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 Kadijah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kadijah 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 Kadijah 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 named Kadijah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.