Kaya
Of Arawak origin meaning "pure" or "wise home".
Name Census estimates that about 10,595 living Americans carry the first name Kaya. It is a predominantly female name (94.0% of registrations). The average person named Kaya today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaya births was 2004 (561 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaya. 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 Kaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Kaya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
11K
~ 1 in 32,351 Americans
Peak year
2004
561 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#966
Tracked since 1968
Census
Kaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,063 people with the first name Kaya, which placed it at #2,624 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
#2,624
National first-name rank
People counted
9.1K
9,063 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaya is White at 49.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.6%) and Black (14.0%). 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 Kaya 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 Kaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.8% · 4,514
- Two or more races16.6% · 1,503
- Black or African American14.0% · 1,273
- Hispanic or Latino11.5% · 1,042
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.1% · 555
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 176
Gender
Gender distribution for Kaya
Kaya leans heavily female at 94.0% of total registrations, but 647 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kaya as a male name
- Ranked #5,323 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (56 births)
Kaya as a female name
- Ranked #966 in 2024
- 268 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (528 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaya leans strongly female. 8,472 people counted with this name were female (93.5%), compared with 590 male bearers (6.5%).
Popularity
Kaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaya from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 4,757 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
Kaya 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 Kaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Kaya, while New Hampshire, Maine, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 195 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaya
The name Kaya has its origins in various cultures and languages around the world. It is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "kaya," which means "body" or "physical form." This Sanskrit root can also be traced to the Thai language, where the name Kaya is a common feminine name meaning "free" or "without restraint."
In Japanese culture, the name Kaya is associated with the Japanese word "kayou," which means "to be fragrant" or "to emit a pleasant aroma." This connection possibly stems from the Japanese appreciation for nature and the beauty found in fragrances.
The name Kaya also has roots in Native American cultures. In the Lakota Sioux language, "Kaya" means "to go" or "to follow a path." This meaning resonates with the nomadic lifestyle and spiritual journeys of many Native American tribes.
Historically, the name Kaya can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts and Hindu scriptures, where it is often used as a term for the physical body or as a reference to the spiritual essence within. In Buddhist teachings, the concept of "kaya" is also mentioned, referring to the physical manifestation of enlightened beings.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kaya was Kaya Upanishad, an ancient Indian sage and philosopher who lived around the 6th century BCE. Her teachings and writings contributed to the development of Hindu philosophies and spiritual traditions.
In the realm of art and literature, Kaya Matissiere was a French painter and sculptor born in 1835. She was known for her vibrant portraits and her involvement in the Impressionist movement.
Kaya Fon Brunt, born in 1908, was a Swedish writer and journalist who gained recognition for her novels and short stories exploring themes of identity and societal norms.
In the field of music, Kaya Jones, born in 1984, is an American singer-songwriter and former member of the Pussycat Dolls pop group. Her solo work has explored various genres, including pop, rock, and country.
Another notable figure with the name Kaya was Kaya Muller, a German environmental activist and advocate for sustainable living. Born in 1960, she played a significant role in raising awareness about the impact of human activities on the planet.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Kaya throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural diversity and human experience.
People
Kaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaya 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
Kaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,595 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaya 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 32,351 US residents.
Is Kaya a common name?
We classify Kaya as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,753 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaya was 2004, when 561 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaya is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,063 people with the name Kaya, or 3.00 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,624 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 Kaya 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 Kaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaya leans strongly female. 8,472 people counted with this name were female (93.5%), compared with 590 male bearers (6.5%). 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 Kaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaya is White at 49.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.6%) and Black (14.0%). 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 Kaya most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.8% (4,514 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 Kaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaya a female name?
Yes, 94.0% of people registered as Kaya 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 Kaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaya 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 Kaya 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 Americans are named Kaya?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.