Kamalei
A feminine given name of Hawaiian origin meaning "the child of the lei".
Name Census estimates that about 145 living Americans carry the first name Kamalei. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Kamalei today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kamalei births was 2008 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kamalei. 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
145
~ 1 in 2,363,823 Americans
Peak year
2008
20 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2020 SSA rank
#13,059
Tracked since 1995
Census
Kamalei in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 213 people with the first name Kamalei, which placed it at #36,939 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
#36,939
National first-name rank
People counted
213
213 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
37.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kamalei
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kamalei is Asian/Pacific Islander at 37.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (35.7%) and Hispanic (19.2%). 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 Kamalei 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 Kamalei at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander37.1% · 79
- Two or more races35.7% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino19.2% · 41
- Black or African American4.7% · 10
- White2.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Kamalei
Kamalei is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 147 total registrations, 30 (20.4%) were male and 117 (79.6%) were female.
Kamalei as a male name
- Ranked #13,059 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 2001 (7 births)
Kamalei as a female name
- Ranked #16,364 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kamalei on both sides of the split. Of the 210 people counted with this name, 63 were male (30.0%) and 147 were female (70.0%).
Popularity
Kamalei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kamalei from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 53 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kamalei remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kamalei 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 Kamalei during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kamaleis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kamalei
The name Kamalei has its origins rooted in the Hawaiian language and culture. It is a combination of two words, "kama" meaning child, and "lei" referring to a garland or wreath of flowers. This suggests that the name carries a connotation of innocence, beauty, and adornment, perhaps reflecting the intention of bestowing these qualities upon the child bearing this name.
In ancient Hawaiian traditions, the naming of a child was a sacred ritual, often guided by spiritual and astrological beliefs. The use of the name Kamalei can be traced back to the pre-colonial era of the Hawaiian Islands, before the arrival of Western settlers and missionaries in the late 18th century.
Historical records from the early 19th century indicate the presence of individuals bearing the name Kamalei, although specific details are scarce due to the oral nature of Hawaiian culture at the time. One noteworthy figure was Kamalei Kanakapili, a high-ranking chieftess and landowner who lived during the reign of King Kamehameha III in the early to mid-1800s.
Moving forward in time, the name gained further recognition with Kamalei Kordick, a prominent Hawaiian musician and composer who was born in 1938 and passed away in 2008. Her compositions and performances played a significant role in preserving and promoting traditional Hawaiian music and culture.
Another notable individual was Kamalei Noa, a Hawaiian activist and educator who dedicated her life to the preservation of native Hawaiian language and culture. Born in 1948, she was instrumental in establishing Hawaiian language immersion programs and advocating for indigenous rights in Hawaii.
In the realm of sports, Kamalei Wahine was a standout volleyball player who represented the United States in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Her athletic achievements and dedication to her Hawaiian heritage inspired many young athletes.
While the name Kamalei may not be as widely known outside of Hawaii, it holds a deep cultural significance and connection to the rich traditions of the Hawaiian Islands. Its roots in ancient times and its continued use throughout history serve as a testament to the enduring spirit and resilience of the Hawaiian people.
People
Kamalei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kamalei 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
Kamalei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kamalei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kamalei 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 2,363,823 US residents.
Is Kamalei a common name?
We classify Kamalei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 147 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kamalei most popular?
The single biggest year for Kamalei was 2008, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kamalei is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kamalei in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 213 people with the name Kamalei, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,939 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 Kamalei 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 Kamalei?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kamalei on both sides of the split. Of the 210 people counted with this name, 63 were male (30.0%) and 147 were female (70.0%). 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 Kamalei?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kamalei is Asian/Pacific Islander at 37.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (35.7%) and Hispanic (19.2%). 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 Kamalei most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kamalei in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.1% (79 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 Kamalei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kamalei a female name?
Yes, 79.6% of people registered as Kamalei 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 Kamalei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kamalei 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 Kamalei 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 have the name Kamalei?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.