Kee
A modern variant form of the English name, Keith.
Name Census estimates that about 661 living Americans carry the first name Kee. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Kee today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kee births was 1924 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kee. 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
661
~ 1 in 518,539 Americans
Peak year
1924
44 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2016 SSA rank
#11,472
Tracked since 1910
Census
Kee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,731 people with the first name Kee, which placed it at #8,387 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
#8,387
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,731 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
64.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kee is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (17.2%) and Black (8.3%). 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 Kee 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 Kee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander64.0% · 1,108
- American Indian and Alaska Native17.2% · 298
- Black or African American8.3% · 143
- White7.0% · 122
- Two or more races1.9% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 27
Gender
Gender distribution for Kee
Out of the 1,416 babies given the name Kee since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Kee as a male name
- Ranked #11,472 in 2016
- 6 male births in 2016
- Peak: 1924 (44 births)
Kee as a female name
- Ranked #14,046 in 1990
- 5 female births in 1990
- Peak: 1970 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kee on both sides of the split. Of the 1,726 people counted with this name, 1,222 were male (70.8%) and 504 were female (29.2%).
Popularity
Kee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kee from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 305 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kee 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 Kee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Arizona, New Mexico, California recorded the most babies named Kee, while Wisconsin, California, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 241 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kee
The name Kee has its origins in the Korean language, tracing back to the late 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Korean word "gi," which means "energy" or "life force." The name carries connotations of vitality, strength, and endurance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kee can be found in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, a historical record that chronicles the reign of Korean kings. In these texts, there are references to individuals bearing the name Kee, often belonging to the nobility or scholarly class.
During the Goryeo Dynasty, which preceded the Joseon era, a renowned scholar and poet named Kee Hung-bae (1037-1101) gained recognition for his literary works and contributions to Korean literature. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the development of the Korean poetic tradition.
In the realm of martial arts, Kee Hong-hi (1919-2002) was a influential figure who played a pivotal role in the global spread of Taekwondo. He is credited with systematizing the techniques and patterns of Taekwondo, and his efforts were instrumental in the sport's recognition by the International Olympic Committee.
Another notable figure was Kee Chung-soo (1786-1856), a prominent scholar and calligrapher during the Joseon Dynasty. His calligraphic works are highly regarded and are preserved in various museums and collections throughout South Korea.
In the modern era, Kee Seok-woo (1939-2018) was a renowned South Korean novelist and screenwriter. His works, which often explored themes of social injustice and the human condition, earned him numerous literary awards and acclaim both domestically and internationally.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Kee, each leaving their mark in fields such as literature, martial arts, calligraphy, and scholarly pursuits. The name continues to hold cultural significance and is a reflection of the rich heritage of the Korean language and culture.
People
Kee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kee 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
Kee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 661 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kee 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 518,539 US residents.
Is Kee a common name?
We classify Kee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,416 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kee most popular?
The single biggest year for Kee was 1924, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kee is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,731 people with the name Kee, or 0.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,387 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 Kee 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 Kee?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kee on both sides of the split. Of the 1,726 people counted with this name, 1,222 were male (70.8%) and 504 were female (29.2%). 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 Kee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kee is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (17.2%) and Black (8.3%). 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 Kee most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.0% (1,108 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 Kee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kee a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Kee 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.
Is Kee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kee 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 Kee 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 Americans are named Kee?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Kee at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.