Kearah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful" or "admirable."
Name Census estimates that about 199 living Americans carry the first name Kearah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kearah today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kearah births was 2005 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kearah. 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
199
~ 1 in 1,722,384 Americans
Peak year
2005
20 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2013 SSA rank
#17,941
Tracked since 1993
Census
Kearah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 167 people with the first name Kearah, which placed it at #42,759 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
#42,759
National first-name rank
People counted
167
167 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
40.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kearah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kearah is Black at 40.7%. The next largest groups are White (37.1%) and Two or More Races (12.6%). 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 Kearah 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 Kearah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American40.7% · 68
- White37.1% · 62
- Two or more races12.6% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
Popularity
Kearah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kearah from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 120 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
Kearah 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 Kearah 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 Kearah
The name Kearah has its origins in the Gaelic language, tracing back to ancient Celtic cultures and regions of Ireland and Scotland. It is derived from the Old Irish word "ciar," meaning dark or black, often referring to hair color. This name was commonly used in these areas during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Kearah can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a medieval chronicle that documented events in Ireland from the 5th to the 16th century. The name appears in an entry from 1126, referring to a woman named Kearah O'Neill.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kearah. One of the most famous was Kearah MacLeod (1590-1648), a Scottish noblewoman and chieftain of the MacLeod clan on the Isle of Skye. She played a significant role in the Scottish civil wars of the 17th century.
Another historical figure with this name was Kearah O'Brien (1712-1789), an Irish poet and playwright who wrote extensively in the Gaelic language. Her works were influential in preserving Irish cultural traditions during a time of English dominance.
In the 19th century, Kearah Macgregor (1825-1901) was a notable Scottish artist known for her landscape paintings depicting the Scottish Highlands. Her works were exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and are now part of national collections.
Moving into the 20th century, Kearah Fitzpatrick (1902-1981) was an Irish politician and activist who fought for women's rights and Irish independence. She served as a member of the Irish parliament and was a prominent figure in the Irish republican movement.
While the name Kearah has ancient roots and historical significance, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout the centuries. Its distinctive Celtic origins and connection to notable figures have contributed to its enduring appeal and cultural significance in regions where Gaelic heritage is celebrated.
People
Kearah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kearah 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
Kearah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kearah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 199 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kearah 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 1,722,384 US residents.
Is Kearah a common name?
We classify Kearah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kearah most popular?
The single biggest year for Kearah was 2005, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kearah is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kearah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 167 people with the name Kearah, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,759 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 Kearah 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 Kearah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kearah appears almost entirely female. Of the 166 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 Kearah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kearah is Black at 40.7%. The next largest groups are White (37.1%) and Two or More Races (12.6%). 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 Kearah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kearah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.7% (68 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 Kearah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kearah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kearah 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 Kearah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kearah 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 Kearah 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 have Kearah as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.