Kanyon
An inventive spelling variation of the word "canyon," a deep ravine.
Name Census estimates that about 1,432 living Americans carry the first name Kanyon. It is a predominantly male name (92.2% of registrations). The average person named Kanyon today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kanyon births was 2007 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kanyon. 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.
Key insights
- • Kanyon is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 239,354 Americans
Peak year
2007
73 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,836
Tracked since 1991
Census
Kanyon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,104 people with the first name Kanyon, which placed it at #11,558 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
#11,558
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,104 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kanyon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kanyon is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Black (5.6%). 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 Kanyon 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 Kanyon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 850
- Two or more races9.2% · 102
- Black or African American5.6% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Kanyon
Kanyon leans heavily male at 92.2% of total registrations, but 113 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kanyon as a male name
- Ranked #3,836 in 2024
- 29 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (66 births)
Kanyon as a female name
- Ranked #12,870 in 2022
- 7 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2008 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kanyon leans strongly male. 988 people counted with this name were male (89.2%), compared with 120 female bearers (10.8%).
Popularity
Kanyon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kanyon 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 581 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kanyon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kanyon 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 Kanyon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kanyons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Utah, Texas, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Kanyon, while North Carolina, California, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 40 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kanyon
The name Kanyon is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek word "kanon," which means "rule" or "standard." It was initially used as a term in architecture and mathematics, referring to a set of principles or guidelines. The transition of this word into a personal name is not well documented, but it likely emerged as a symbolic representation of someone who adheres to principles or sets a standard.
During the Byzantine era, the name Kanyon appeared in several historical records, primarily as a monastic name. One notable bearer of this name was Kanyon of Iconium, a monk who lived in the 9th century and was known for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy.
In the 12th century, a French nobleman named Kanyon de Montfort gained recognition for his role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France. His military exploits and controversial actions during this religious conflict were widely documented in medieval chronicles.
Fast forward to the 16th century, Kanyon Husung, a German cartographer, made significant contributions to the field of mapmaking. His detailed maps of various regions in Europe were highly acclaimed during his time.
Another historical figure bearing the name Kanyon was Kanyon Coolidge, an American politician and diplomat who served as the 30th Vice President of the United States from 1923 to 1929 under President Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933).
In the realm of literature, Kanyon Mirbeau was a French novelist and playwright from the late 19th century, known for his satirical and socially critical works, such as "The Diary of a Chambermaid" and "The Torture Garden."
While the name Kanyon has been relatively uncommon throughout history, its roots can be traced back to ancient Greek principles and ideals. The individuals mentioned above, spanning various eras and fields, have contributed to the rich tapestry of this name's legacy.
People
Kanyon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kanyon 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
Kanyon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kanyon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,432 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kanyon 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 239,354 US residents.
Is Kanyon a common name?
We classify Kanyon as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,448 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kanyon most popular?
The single biggest year for Kanyon was 2007, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kanyon 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 Kanyon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,104 people with the name Kanyon, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,558 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 Kanyon 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 Kanyon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kanyon leans strongly male. 988 people counted with this name were male (89.2%), compared with 120 female bearers (10.8%). 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 Kanyon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kanyon is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and Black (5.6%). 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 Kanyon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kanyon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (850 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 Kanyon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kanyon a male name?
Yes, 92.2% of people registered as Kanyon 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 Kanyon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kanyon 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 Kanyon 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 called Kanyon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.