Kanye
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "the highest".
Name Census estimates that about 1,407 living Americans carry the first name Kanye. It is a predominantly male name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Kanye today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kanye births was 2004 (528 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kanye. 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 Kanye with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 243,606 Americans
Peak year
2004
528 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,299
Tracked since 2002
Census
Kanye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,182 people with the first name Kanye, which placed it at #11,015 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
#11,015
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,182 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kanye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kanye is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.5%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Kanye 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 Kanye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.1% · 971
- Two or more races8.5% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 55
- White3.2% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Kanye
Kanye leans heavily male at 98.3% of total registrations, but 24 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kanye as a male name
- Ranked #6,299 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (509 births)
Kanye as a female name
- Ranked #17,795 in 2005
- 5 female births in 2005
- Peak: 2004 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kanye leans strongly male. 1,128 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 45 female bearers (3.8%).
Popularity
Kanye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kanye from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,126 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kanye 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 Kanye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kanyes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. Illinois, New York, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kanye, while Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kanye
The given name Kanye has its origins in the Akan language spoken by the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. The name is derived from the word "kan" which means "one" or "only" and "ye" which means "born." Together, the name Kanye signifies "the only one born" or "the unique one."
This name has been in use among the Akan people for centuries, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. It was commonly given to children who were the only child born to their parents or who were born after a long period of infertility, signifying their uniqueness and the special circumstances surrounding their birth.
In the Akan culture, names hold great significance and are often chosen based on the day of the week a child is born, events surrounding their birth, or the traits and qualities that their parents wish for them to possess. The name Kanye reflects the Akan belief in the importance of each individual's unique identity and the idea that every child is a special gift.
Historically, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kanye. One of the earliest recorded examples is Kanye Nkansah, a prominent Akan chief who lived in the 16th century and was known for his wisdom and leadership during a time of political upheaval in the region.
Another notable figure was Kanye Opoku, a renowned Akan scholar and linguist who lived in the 18th century and made significant contributions to the preservation and study of the Akan language and culture.
In the 19th century, Kanye Mensah was a prominent Ghanaian merchant and trader who played a crucial role in facilitating economic and cultural exchange between the Akan people and European traders along the West African coast.
Moving into the 20th century, Kanye Kwesi Appiah was a Ghanaian educator and activist who fought for the rights of his people during the struggle for independence from British colonial rule.
More recently, the name gained global recognition with the American rapper, producer, and fashion designer Kanye West, who was born in 1977 and has had a significant impact on popular culture with his music and artistic endeavors.
While the name Kanye may have gained broader recognition in recent times, its roots can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage of the Akan people, where it has held a special significance for centuries, representing the unique and precious nature of each individual life.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Kanye
People
Kanye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kanye 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
Kanye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kanye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,407 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kanye 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 243,606 US residents.
Is Kanye a common name?
We classify Kanye 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, 1,423 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kanye most popular?
The single biggest year for Kanye was 2004, when 528 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kanye is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kanye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,182 people with the name Kanye, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,015 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 Kanye 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 Kanye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kanye leans strongly male. 1,128 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 45 female bearers (3.8%). 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 Kanye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kanye is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.5%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Kanye most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kanye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (971 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 Kanye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kanye a male name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Kanye in the SSA data are male. 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 Kanye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kanye 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 Kanye 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 share the name Kanye?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.