Kawhi
A masculine name of Nisenan origin meaning "little deer".
Name Census estimates that about 383 living Americans carry the first name Kawhi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kawhi today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kawhi births was 2019 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kawhi. 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 Kawhi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
383
~ 1 in 894,920 Americans
Peak year
2019
70 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,014
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Kawhi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kawhi from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 234 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kawhi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kawhi 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 Kawhi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kawhis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, New York, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kawhi, while Tennessee, Illinois, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kawhi
The name Kawhi is believed to have originated from the Nilo-Saharan language family, which is primarily spoken in parts of Africa. It's thought to be derived from the word "kawhi," which means "river" or "water source" in some of these languages.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kawhi can be traced back to the 7th century CE, where it was mentioned in ancient texts from the Kingdom of Nubia, which was located in what is now Sudan. These texts referred to a figure named Kawhi, who was described as a wise and respected leader among the Nubian people.
In the 12th century, the name Kawhi appeared in Arabic manuscripts from the region, where it was used to refer to a famous poet and scholar from the city of Timbuktu, which was a major center of learning and culture during that time.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Kawhi was Kawhi al-Andalusi, a renowned mathematician and astronomer who lived in Cordoba, Spain, in the 10th century. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and is credited with introducing several mathematical concepts to the Western world.
Another prominent figure with the name Kawhi was Kawhi ibn Battuta, a Moroccan scholar and explorer who traveled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe in the 14th century. His detailed accounts of his travels, known as the Rihla, are considered one of the most important sources of information about the medieval world.
In the 16th century, there was a Kawhi who was a respected religious leader and scholar in the Songhai Empire, which was located in present-day Mali. He was known for his teachings on Islamic philosophy and his efforts to promote education and literacy.
While the name Kawhi has its roots in ancient African languages, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world over time, although its popularity has remained relatively limited compared to other names.
People
Kawhi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kawhi 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
Kawhi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kawhi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 383 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kawhi 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 894,920 US residents.
Is Kawhi a common name?
We classify Kawhi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 386 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kawhi most popular?
The single biggest year for Kawhi was 2019, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kawhi is about 7 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 Kawhi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kawhi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kawhi 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 Kawhi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kawhi 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 Kawhi 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 are named Kawhi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.