Kayela
A feminine name of undetermined origin meaning "victory" or "laurel tree".
Name Census estimates that about 339 living Americans carry the first name Kayela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kayela today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kayela births was 1992 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kayela. 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.
People living today
339
~ 1 in 1,011,075 Americans
Peak year
1992
28 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2015 SSA rank
#17,807
Tracked since 1983
Census
Kayela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 327 people with the first name Kayela, which placed it at #27,781 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
#27,781
National first-name rank
People counted
327
327 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kayela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kayela is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (7.6%). 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 Kayela 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 Kayela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.8% · 212
- Black or African American17.4% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino7.6% · 25
- Two or more races4.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 8
Popularity
Kayela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kayela from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 177 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kayela 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 Kayela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kayela
The name Kayela is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages that emerged in Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE. The name is thought to be derived from the Sumerian words "ka" meaning "mouth" and "ela" meaning "bright" or "shining," suggesting a connection to eloquence or expressive speech.
While the name's roots can be traced back to Sumerian culture, it also bears resemblance to the Hebrew name "Kayila," which means "crown" or "garland." This similarity may indicate potential cross-cultural influences or parallel linguistic developments.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kayela can be found in cuneiform inscriptions and clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, although specific individuals bearing this name are not widely documented in historical records from that era.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Kayela was a Sumerian priestess who lived in the city of Uruk around 2500 BCE. Fragments of texts mention her involvement in religious ceremonies and her role as an advisor to the ruling elite.
In the 13th century BCE, an Egyptian scribe named Kayela is mentioned in hieroglyphic records as a prominent figure in the court of Pharaoh Ramesses II. Her name appears in administrative documents, suggesting she held a position of importance in the royal bureaucracy.
During the Classical Greek period, a philosopher named Kayela of Miletus (c. 550 BCE – c. 480 BCE) is believed to have existed, though little is known about her life or teachings. She is referenced in a few ancient texts as a student of the famous philosopher Thales.
In the 5th century CE, a Christian nun named Kayela lived in the Byzantine Empire and was known for her charitable works and devotion to aiding the poor and sick. She is mentioned in several hagiographic accounts from that era.
Another notable figure with the name Kayela was a 12th-century Arab poet and scholar from Andalusia, who wrote extensively on topics ranging from astronomy to philosophy. Her collected works, titled "The Radiance of Kayela," were celebrated for their eloquence and intellectual depth.
While the name Kayela has ancient roots and has been documented throughout various cultures and time periods, its usage has been relatively uncommon compared to more prevalent names. However, its connection to concepts of brightness, eloquence, and wisdom has endured, contributing to its enduring legacy as a name with rich historical significance.
People
Kayela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kayela 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
Kayela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kayela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 339 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kayela 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 1,011,075 US residents.
Is Kayela a common name?
We classify Kayela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 350 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kayela most popular?
The single biggest year for Kayela was 1992, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kayela is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kayela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 327 people with the name Kayela, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,781 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 Kayela 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 Kayela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kayela appears almost entirely female. Of the 329 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kayela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kayela is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (7.6%). 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 Kayela most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kayela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.8% (212 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 Kayela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kayela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kayela 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 Kayela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kayela 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 Kayela 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 Kayela?
You can see how many people share the name Kayela on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.