Kaira
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "ray of light".
Name Census estimates that about 3,135 living Americans carry the first name Kaira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaira today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaira births was 2019 (186 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaira. 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 Kaira with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Kaira is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.1K
~ 1 in 109,332 Americans
Peak year
2019
186 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,253
Tracked since 1970
Census
Kaira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,324 people with the first name Kaira, which placed it at #6,783 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
#6,783
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,324 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
25.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaira is White at 25.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.9%) and Hispanic (21.3%). 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 Kaira 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 Kaira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White25.9% · 603
- Asian and Pacific Islander22.9% · 533
- Hispanic or Latino21.3% · 495
- Black or African American19.3% · 449
- Two or more races9.5% · 221
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 23
Popularity
Kaira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaira from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,011 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaira 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 Kaira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kairas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Kaira, while Utah, Oregon, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 70 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaira
The name Kaira is of Sanskrit origin, tracing its roots back to ancient India. It is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "Kair," which means "ray" or "beam" of light. This name is associated with radiance, beauty, and illumination.
In Hindu mythology, Kaira is mentioned as one of the names of the goddess Lakshmi, the embodiment of wealth, prosperity, and beauty. The name is also associated with the concept of enlightenment and spiritual awakening, making it a popular choice among Hindu families.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kaira can be traced back to the 7th century CE, where it appears in various Hindu scriptures and religious texts. One notable historical figure with this name was Kaira Devi, a 10th-century queen of the Chahamana dynasty in Rajasthan, India, known for her courage and leadership.
Throughout history, the name Kaira has been borne by several notable individuals. One such person was Kaira Arby (1917-2008), a renowned Pakistani singer and actress who made significant contributions to the country's music industry. Another notable figure was Kaira Al-Falaki (1106-1174), an Arab mathematician and astronomer from Seville, Spain, who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
In the 19th century, Kaira Browning (1812-1889) was a British poet and diarist, known for her vivid descriptions of life in Victorian England. Kaira Akunova (1918-2012) was a Russian ballerina and choreographer, celebrated for her performances with the Bolshoi Ballet.
Furthermore, Kaira Bhattacharya (1921-2003) was an Indian writer and social activist who advocated for women's rights and education. Her literary works explored themes of feminism and social justice, making her a prominent figure in the Indian literary world.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Kaira throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Kaira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaira 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
Kaira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,135 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaira 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 109,332 US residents.
Is Kaira a common name?
We classify Kaira as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,183 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaira most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaira was 2019, when 186 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaira is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,324 people with the name Kaira, or 0.77 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,783 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 Kaira 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 Kaira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaira appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,321 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Kaira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaira is White at 25.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.9%) and Hispanic (21.3%). 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 Kaira most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 25.9% (603 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 Kaira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaira 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 Kaira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaira 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 Kaira 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 Kaira?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.