Keanu
An Hawaiian name meaning "cool breeze over the mountains."
Name Census estimates that about 8,388 living Americans carry the first name Keanu. It is a predominantly male name (97.3% of registrations). The average person named Keanu today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keanu births was 2020 (561 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keanu. 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
- • Although Keanu is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 225 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Keanu is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
8.4K
~ 1 in 40,862 Americans
Peak year
2020
561 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#632
Tracked since 1990
Gender
Gender distribution for Keanu
Keanu leans heavily male at 97.3% of total registrations, but 225 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Keanu as a male name
- Ranked #632 in 2024
- 442 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (556 births)
Keanu as a female name
- Ranked #12,898 in 2022
- 7 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1995 (31 births)
Popularity
Keanu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keanu from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 2,597 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keanu 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 Keanu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keanus live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Hawaii, Texas recorded the most babies named Keanu, while South Dakota, Nebraska, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 174 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keanu
The name Keanu is a Hawaiian given name with roots that can be traced back to the late 18th century. The name is derived from the Hawaiian word "keanu," which means "the coolness" or "the breeze." It is believed to have originated as a nickname or a shortened form of longer Hawaiian names that incorporated the word "keanu."
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Keanu can be found in the Hawaiian language newspapers of the 19th century. These newspapers occasionally mentioned individuals with the name Keanu, suggesting that the name was in use among the Hawaiian population during that time period.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Keanu was Keanu Aina, born in 1838 on the island of Maui. He was a prominent figure in Hawaiian history, serving as a member of the Hawaiian Kingdom's House of Representatives in the late 19th century.
Another notable figure in history with the name Keanu was Keanu Kahunahana, born in 1872 on the island of Oahu. He was a respected Hawaiian scholar and author who played a significant role in preserving and promoting Hawaiian language and culture.
In the early 20th century, Keanu Kahuanui, born in 1905 on the island of Kauai, gained recognition as a talented musician and composer of Hawaiian music. His compositions contributed to the preservation of traditional Hawaiian melodies and helped popularize Hawaiian music globally.
Moving forward in time, Keanu Kaukahi, born in 1928 on the island of Molokai, was a notable Hawaiian activist and advocate for Native Hawaiian rights. He played a crucial role in the Hawaiian Renaissance movement of the 1970s, which aimed to revive and celebrate Hawaiian culture and traditions.
While the name Keanu has its origins in Hawaii, it has also been adopted and used in various parts of the world, particularly in recent times. However, it is important to note that the historical and cultural significance of the name is deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture and language.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Keanu
People
Keanu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keanu 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
Keanu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keanu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,388 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keanu 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 40,862 US residents.
Is Keanu a common name?
We classify Keanu as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,489 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keanu most popular?
The single biggest year for Keanu was 2020, when 561 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keanu is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Keanu a male name?
Yes, 97.3% of people registered as Keanu 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.
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.