Kena
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "brave" or "bold".
Name Census estimates that about 1,744 living Americans carry the first name Kena. It is a predominantly female name (96.7% of registrations). The average person named Kena today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kena births was 1975 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kena. 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 Kena with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kena is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 63 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 196,533 Americans
Peak year
1975
70 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2023 SSA rank
#6,260
Tracked since 1947
Census
Kena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,928 people with the first name Kena, which placed it at #7,763 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
#7,763
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,928 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
39.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kena is White at 39.3%. The next largest groups are Black (38.6%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Kena 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 Kena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White39.3% · 758
- Black or African American38.6% · 745
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 194
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 106
- Two or more races5.2% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 24
Gender
Gender distribution for Kena
Kena leans heavily female at 96.7% of total registrations, but 63 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kena as a male name
- Ranked #8,593 in 2023
- 9 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2018 (10 births)
Kena as a female name
- Ranked #6,260 in 2024
- 19 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1975 (70 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kena leans strongly female. 1,812 people counted with this name were female (94.3%), compared with 110 male bearers (5.7%).
Popularity
Kena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kena from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 522 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kena 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 Kena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Illinois, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Kena, while North Carolina, Mississippi, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kena
The name Kena finds its roots in the Hawaiian language, originating from the Polynesian islands of the Pacific Ocean. Historically, it was a name given to both males and females in Hawaiian culture.
In its earliest form, the name Kena was derived from the Hawaiian word "kena," which means "to beckon" or "to summon." It carried a sense of authority and command, often associated with leadership or influential figures within the Hawaiian community.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Kena can be traced back to the ancient Hawaiian chants and oral traditions passed down through generations. These chants celebrated the exploits of legendary figures and revered ancestors, some of whom bore the name Kena.
Throughout Hawaiian history, several notable individuals have carried the name Kena. One such individual was Kena Kalokuokamaile, a renowned high chief and warrior who lived in the late 18th century on the island of Kauai. He was known for his bravery and strategic prowess in battles against rival chiefs.
Another historical figure bearing the name was Kena Kauhi, a respected kahuna (priest) and navigator who lived during the early 19th century. He was renowned for his expertise in traditional Hawaiian navigation techniques, guiding voyaging canoes across the vast Pacific Ocean.
In the realm of Hawaiian art and culture, Kena Kawaiaea was a celebrated hula master and composer who lived in the late 19th century. Her compositions and teachings played a significant role in preserving and perpetuating the ancient hula traditions.
Beyond Hawaii, the name Kena has also been found in various forms across other Polynesian cultures. In Samoa, for instance, the name Kena was sometimes used as a variation of the name Kena'ina, meaning "the first-born" or "the eldest."
Additionally, the name Kena has been recorded in ancient texts and inscriptions from other Pacific island cultures, such as Tonga and the Cook Islands, further attesting to its deep-rooted Polynesian heritage.
While the name Kena has maintained its cultural significance within Hawaiian and Polynesian communities, it has also gained recognition and popularity globally, transcending its origins and embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds.
People
Kena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kena 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
Kena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,744 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kena 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 196,533 US residents.
Is Kena a common name?
We classify Kena as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,898 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kena most popular?
The single biggest year for Kena was 1975, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kena is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,928 people with the name Kena, or 0.64 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,763 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 Kena 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 Kena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kena leans strongly female. 1,812 people counted with this name were female (94.3%), compared with 110 male bearers (5.7%). 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 Kena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kena is White at 39.3%. The next largest groups are Black (38.6%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Kena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.3% (758 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 Kena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kena a female name?
Yes, 96.7% of people registered as Kena 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 Kena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kena 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 Kena 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 Kena as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Kena on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.