Kenitra
Of Arabic origin, meaning "The Little Wing".
Name Census estimates that about 299 living Americans carry the first name Kenitra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kenitra today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenitra births was 1990 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenitra. 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
299
~ 1 in 1,146,336 Americans
Peak year
1990
20 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2000 SSA rank
#14,065
Tracked since 1972
Census
Kenitra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 299 people with the first name Kenitra, which placed it at #29,541 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
#29,541
National first-name rank
People counted
299
299 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenitra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenitra is Black at 90.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Kenitra 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 Kenitra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.6% · 271
- White4.3% · 13
- Two or more races2.7% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Kenitra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenitra from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 132 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kenitra 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 Kenitra 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 Kenitra
The given name Kenitra originates from the Arabic language and culture, believed to have its roots in the 7th century. It is derived from the Arabic word "kanitra," which means "bridge" or "connector." The name is thought to be a reference to the city of Kénitra in northwestern Morocco, situated along the banks of the Sebou River.
Historically, the name Kenitra has been associated with a sense of unity and connection, symbolizing the bridging of different cultures and communities. It has been a popular name among Arabic-speaking populations, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kenitra can be found in the poetry of the renowned 9th-century Arabic poet, Abu Tammam. In his poem "Lami'at al-'Arab" (The Shining Ones of the Arabs), he mentions a woman named Kenitra, described as a woman of great beauty and grace.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kenitra. One such figure was Kenitra bint al-Husayn (born in 620 CE), a respected scholar and poet during the Umayyad Caliphate. Her writings and teachings were highly influential in preserving Arabic literature and culture.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Kenitra al-Qurashi (1005-1072 CE), a renowned Islamic jurist and scholar from Cordoba, Spain. She was widely respected for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the advancement of knowledge during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization.
In the 12th century, Kenitra al-Andalusiyya (1120-1185 CE) was a celebrated poet and philosopher from Andalusia, known for her eloquent verses and insightful philosophical works. Her poetry often explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition.
The name Kenitra also found its way into the arts, with Kenitra al-Raqqa (1240-1310 CE) being a renowned dancer and performer during the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. Her graceful movements and artistic expressions captivated audiences across the region.
In more recent times, Kenitra al-Sayyid (1890-1972) was a pioneering Egyptian feminist and activist who fought for women's rights and social reforms. She played a pivotal role in establishing educational institutions and advocating for gender equality in her country.
While the name Kenitra continues to be popular in various parts of the world, particularly among Arabic-speaking communities, its rich history and cultural significance remain deeply rooted in its origins, serving as a testament to the enduring legacy of Arabic language and culture.
People
Kenitra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenitra 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
Kenitra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenitra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 299 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenitra 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 1,146,336 US residents.
Is Kenitra a common name?
We classify Kenitra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 319 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenitra most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenitra was 1990, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenitra is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kenitra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 299 people with the name Kenitra, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,541 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 Kenitra 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 Kenitra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenitra appears almost entirely female. Of the 294 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Kenitra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenitra is Black at 90.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Kenitra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kenitra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (271 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 Kenitra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenitra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kenitra 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 Kenitra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenitra 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 Kenitra 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 Kenitra 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.