Kayliah
A feminine name of modern Hebrew origin meaning "crown of laurels".
Name Census estimates that about 249 living Americans carry the first name Kayliah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kayliah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kayliah births was 2015 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kayliah. 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
249
~ 1 in 1,376,523 Americans
Peak year
2015
15 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,676
Tracked since 2000
Census
Kayliah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 193 people with the first name Kayliah, which placed it at #39,252 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
#39,252
National first-name rank
People counted
193
193 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
52.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kayliah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kayliah is Black at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and White (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 Kayliah 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 Kayliah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.8% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino15.0% · 29
- White14.0% · 27
- Two or more races11.9% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 3
Popularity
Kayliah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kayliah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 111 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kayliah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kayliah 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 Kayliah 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 Kayliah
The name Kayliah is a relatively modern American name that has gained popularity in recent decades. It is a variation of the more traditional name Kayla, which is derived from the Hebrew name Kaiah, meaning "keeper of the keys" or "watchful one."
The name Kayliah is thought to have emerged in the late 20th century, with its roots likely stemming from the desire to create a unique and feminine variation of the name Kayla. The addition of the "liah" suffix, which is often associated with names of Hebrew or Arabic origin, lends a melodic and exotic quality to the name.
While the name Kayliah does not have a long historical lineage, it has gained popularity in recent years, particularly in the United States. It has been embraced by parents seeking a name that is both distinctive and carries a sense of strength and resilience.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kayliah can be found in the late 20th century, with a notable individual being Kayliah Reibold, an American actress born in 1999. Kayliah Reibold has appeared in several television shows and films, including the popular sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" and the movie "Frozen River."
Another notable figure with the name Kayliah is Kayliah Simons, a Canadian track and field athlete who specializes in sprinting. Kayliah Simons has represented Canada in several international competitions, including the Commonwealth Games and the Pan American Games.
In the literary realm, Kayliah Bautista is an American author and poet who has published several works exploring themes of identity, culture, and personal growth. Her debut poetry collection, "Moonchild," was released in 2018 and received critical acclaim.
While the name Kayliah may not have a deep historical lineage, it has already been borne by notable individuals in various fields, including entertainment, sports, and literature. As a relatively new name, its popularity and cultural significance continue to evolve, reflecting the ever-changing landscape of naming traditions in the modern world.
People
Kayliah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kayliah 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
Kayliah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kayliah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 249 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kayliah 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 1,376,523 US residents.
Is Kayliah a common name?
We classify Kayliah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kayliah most popular?
The single biggest year for Kayliah was 2015, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kayliah is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kayliah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 193 people with the name Kayliah, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,252 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 Kayliah 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 Kayliah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kayliah leans strongly female. 187 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Kayliah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kayliah is Black at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and White (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 Kayliah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kayliah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.8% (102 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 Kayliah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kayliah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kayliah 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 Kayliah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kayliah 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 Kayliah 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 named Kayliah?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Kayliah at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.