Kandyce
Of Greek origin, meaning "pure and bright".
Name Census estimates that about 1,324 living Americans carry the first name Kandyce. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kandyce today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kandyce births was 1991 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kandyce. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 258,878 Americans
Peak year
1991
60 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,089
Tracked since 1946
Popularity
Kandyce: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kandyce from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 400 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Kandyce remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kandyce 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 Kandyce during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kandyces live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Kandyce, while Louisiana, Florida, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kandyce
The name Kandyce is a modern variation of the ancient Greek name Kandake, which was the title given to the queens of the ancient Nubian kingdom of Kush, located in what is now Sudan. The name Kandake is derived from the Meroitic word "kdke," which means "queen" or "royal woman."
The Nubian kingdom of Kush was a powerful and influential civilization that flourished along the Nile River in present-day Sudan from around 2500 BCE to 350 CE. The Kandakes were the ruling queens of this kingdom, and they were revered for their strength, wisdom, and leadership.
One of the most famous Kandakes in history was Amanirenas, who ruled Kush in the 1st century BCE. She led her armies in a successful rebellion against the Roman Empire, and her exploits were recorded by ancient historians such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder.
Another notable Kandake was Amanishakheto, who ruled in the 1st century CE and is known for her impressive pyramids and monuments in the ancient city of Meroe, the capital of Kush.
The name Kandyce was first recorded in English-speaking countries in the 20th century, likely as a modern variant of the ancient Kandake. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kandyce was Kandyce Fields, an American actress born in 1938.
Other notable historical figures with the name Kandyce include Kandyce Semien Norris, an American social worker and community activist who was born in 1942, and Kandyce Jacobs, a Canadian writer and academic born in 1954.
While the name Kandyce is relatively rare, it has a rich and fascinating history that dates back to the ancient Nubian civilization of Kush and the powerful queens who ruled over it.
People
Kandyce + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kandyce 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
Kandyce: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kandyce?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,324 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kandyce 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 258,878 US residents.
Is Kandyce a common name?
We classify Kandyce as "Rare". It ranks above 91.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,428 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kandyce most popular?
The single biggest year for Kandyce was 1991, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kandyce is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kandyce a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kandyce 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.
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.