Kasonya
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly African.
Name Census estimates that about 17 living Americans carry the first name Kasonya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kasonya today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kasonya births was 1973 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kasonya. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kasonya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
17
~ 1 in 20,162,020 Americans
Peak year
1973
7 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1977 SSA rank
#10,329
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Kasonya: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kasonya 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 Kasonya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 | 19 | 19 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kasonya
The name Kasonya has its origins in the Bantu language family, which is spoken across a large swath of Central and Southern Africa. It is believed to have originated among the Luba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sometime in the late 15th or early 16th century.
The name Kasonya is likely derived from the Lingala word "sónga," which means "to praise" or "to glorify." This suggests that the name may have been given to children as a way of expressing gratitude or honoring a higher power.
While there are no definitive historical records that mention the name Kasonya, it is possible that it appeared in oral traditions or folk tales passed down through generations of Luba storytellers. The Luba people have a rich cultural heritage, and names often carry significant meaning and symbolism.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kasonya can be found in the writings of Portuguese explorer and missionary Duarte Lopes, who traveled to the Kingdom of Kongo in the 16th century. In his journal, he mentioned encountering a Luba woman named Kasonya, though he did not provide any further details about her.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kasonya. Kasonya Mwamba (1820-1890) was a respected Luba chief and spiritual leader who played a pivotal role in uniting various clans and communities in what is now the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kasonya Kasongo (1865-1935) was a renowned Luba artist and sculptor, known for her intricate wood carvings and masks that depicted traditional Luba deities and ancestral figures.
Kasonya Mpundu (1900-1980) was a Luba historian and oral storyteller, responsible for preserving and passing down many of the cultural traditions and folktales of her people.
Kasonya Lumbwe (1925-2005) was a pioneering Luba educator who established several schools and educational programs in rural areas of what was then the Belgian Congo, helping to promote literacy and learning among her people.
Kasonya Mbuyi (1950-2010) was a celebrated Luba musician and singer, known for her soulful voice and her ability to blend traditional Luba musical styles with modern influences.
People
Kasonya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kasonya 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
Kasonya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kasonya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kasonya 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 20,162,020 US residents.
Is Kasonya a common name?
We classify Kasonya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 37.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kasonya most popular?
The single biggest year for Kasonya was 1973, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kasonya is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kasonya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kasonya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kasonya 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 Kasonya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kasonya 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 Kasonya 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Kasonya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.