Keba
A feminine given name of African origin meaning "keeper".
Name Census estimates that about 32 living Americans carry the first name Keba. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keba today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keba births was 1971 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keba. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Keba. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
32
~ 1 in 10,711,073 Americans
Peak year
1971
7 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1976 SSA rank
#8,615
Tracked since 1969
Census
Keba in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 154 people with the first name Keba, which placed it at #44,677 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
#44,677
National first-name rank
People counted
154
154 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keba
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keba is Black at 80.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.7%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Keba 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 Keba at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.5% · 124
- White9.7% · 15
- Two or more races7.1% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Keba: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keba from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 30 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
Keba 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 Keba 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 Keba
The name Keba originated in West Africa, likely from the Soninke language spoken in Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The precise roots and meaning of the name are unclear, but it may be derived from the Soninke word "kebe," which means "big" or "great." This suggests that Keba could have been a name bestowed upon someone of significant stature or achievement within their community.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Keba was Keba Mbaye, a Senegalese warrior and ruler who lived in the late 16th century. He was a prominent leader of the Wolof Empire and played a crucial role in defending the kingdom against Portuguese incursions during that era.
In the 19th century, Keba Diallo was a renowned Islamic scholar and religious leader from Senegal. He established several Quranic schools and was influential in spreading Islamic teachings throughout West Africa.
Another notable figure was Keba Keinde, a Senegalese writer and activist who lived from 1923 to 1992. She was a prominent figure in the Negritude movement and advocated for women's rights and African cultural identity through her literary works.
In contemporary times, Keba Cissé is a Senegalese singer and musician who has gained international recognition for her unique blend of traditional African music and modern styles. She has released several acclaimed albums and has performed at various festivals and venues around the world.
Keba N'Diaye, born in 1950, is a Senegalese politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Senegal from 2000 to 2001. He has also held several other high-ranking positions, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior.
While the name Keba has its roots in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, albeit to a lesser extent. However, the historical and cultural significance of the name remains deeply rooted in the region where it originated.
People
Keba + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keba 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
Keba: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keba?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 32 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keba 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 10,711,073 US residents.
Is Keba a common name?
We classify Keba as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keba most popular?
The single biggest year for Keba was 1971, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keba is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keba in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 154 people with the name Keba, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,677 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 Keba 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 Keba?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Keba on both sides of the split. Of the 156 people counted with this name, 48 were male (30.8%) and 108 were female (69.2%). 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 Keba?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keba is Black at 80.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.7%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Keba most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Keba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.5% (124 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 Keba in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keba a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keba 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 Keba still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keba 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 Keba 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 Keba?
Find out how many Americans are named Keba on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.