Kemi
A feminine Nigerian name meaning "God has crowned me".
Name Census estimates that about 359 living Americans carry the first name Kemi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kemi today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kemi births was 2022 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kemi. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kemi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
359
~ 1 in 954,747 Americans
Peak year
2022
17 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,871
Tracked since 1961
Census
Kemi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 746 people with the first name Kemi, which placed it at #15,424 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
#15,424
National first-name rank
People counted
746
746 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kemi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kemi is Black at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (10.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). 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 Kemi 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 Kemi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.4% · 570
- White10.2% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 35
- Two or more races4.3% · 32
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Popularity
Kemi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kemi from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 71 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Kemi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kemi 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 Kemi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kemis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kemi
The name Kemi is of Finnish origin, derived from the Finnish word "kemiö," which means "island" or "islet." It can also be traced back to the Swedish word "keminge," meaning "islet dweller." The name has its roots in the geographical landscape of Finland, with its numerous islands and archipelagos dotting the coastline.
Kemi gained prominence in the medieval period when it was used to identify individuals residing on the islands or coastal regions of Finland. Historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries mention individuals bearing the name Kemi, often indicating their place of origin or residence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kemi can be found in the Porvoo Cathedral registers from the late 15th century, where a woman named Kemi Andersdotter is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use during that period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kemi. One such figure was Kemi Karhunen (1915-1992), a renowned Finnish artist known for her vibrant landscapes and depictions of the Finnish countryside. Her works captured the essence of the Finnish landscape and earned her widespread recognition.
Another noteworthy individual was Kemi Räisänen (1901-1976), a Finnish long-distance runner who competed in the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics. Räisänen won a silver medal in the 10,000 meters event at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, cementing his place in Finnish sporting history.
In the field of literature, Kemi Hakavuori (1927-2003) was a celebrated Finnish author and playwright. Her works explored themes of identity, relationships, and the complexities of human existence, earning her critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
Kemi Bassil (born 1992) is a contemporary Lebanese-Finnish artist and filmmaker. Her multimedia installations and experimental films have been exhibited globally, exploring themes of identity, displacement, and cross-cultural narratives.
Lastly, Kemi Seba (born 1981) is a French activist and political figure of Beninese descent. He is known for his advocacy for Pan-Africanism and his efforts to raise awareness about issues affecting the African diaspora and the continent.
While the name Kemi has its origins in Finnish culture and geography, it has transcended geographical boundaries and gained recognition across various fields, reflecting the diverse individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
People
Kemi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kemi 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
Kemi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kemi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 359 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kemi 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 954,747 US residents.
Is Kemi a common name?
We classify Kemi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 376 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kemi most popular?
The single biggest year for Kemi was 2022, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kemi is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kemi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 746 people with the name Kemi, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,424 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 Kemi 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 Kemi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kemi leans strongly female. 683 people counted with this name were female (91.9%), compared with 60 male bearers (8.1%). 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 Kemi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kemi is Black at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (10.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). 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 Kemi most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kemi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (570 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 Kemi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kemi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kemi 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 Kemi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kemi 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 Kemi 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 Kemi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.