Keshona
A feminine name with uncertain origins and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 113 living Americans carry the first name Keshona. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keshona today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keshona births was 1995 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keshona. 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
113
~ 1 in 3,033,224 Americans
Peak year
1995
11 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2003 SSA rank
#9,380
Tracked since 1977
Census
Keshona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 123 people with the first name Keshona, which placed it at #49,809 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
#49,809
National first-name rank
People counted
123
123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keshona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keshona is Black at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Keshona 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 Keshona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.5% · 115
- Two or more races2.4% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 2
- White0.8% · 1
Popularity
Keshona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keshona from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 72 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Keshona remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keshona 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 Keshona 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 Keshona
The name Keshona has its origins in the Swahili language, which is widely spoken in East Africa, particularly in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The name is believed to have emerged during the late 19th or early 20th century, a period when many African cultures were gaining increased recognition and influence.
Keshona is derived from the Swahili word "keshana," which means "beautiful" or "attractive." This suggests that the name was initially given to children as a way of expressing the parents' admiration and hopes for their daughter's physical beauty and inner qualities.
While there are no known direct references to the name Keshona in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Swahili roots can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage of the Bantu people who inhabited the region for centuries. The name's connection to the concept of beauty aligns with the Bantu tradition of celebrating feminine grace and strength.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Keshona are found in historical records from the early 20th century in East African communities. One notable figure bearing this name was Keshona Mwamba, a renowned Kenyan activist who played a significant role in the country's independence movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Throughout history, several other individuals have carried the name Keshona. Among them were Keshona Ndlovu, a South African poet and writer born in 1932, whose works explored themes of identity and cultural heritage. Another notable figure was Keshona Maseko, a Tanzanian educator and community leader born in 1942, who dedicated her life to improving access to education for underprivileged children.
In the realm of sports, Keshona Kionga, a Kenyan long-distance runner born in 1955, achieved great success, winning multiple international competitions and setting records in her prime. Lastly, Keshona Amina, a Ugandan fashion designer born in 1968, gained recognition for her innovative and culturally inspired clothing lines, blending traditional African aesthetics with contemporary styles.
These individuals, spanning different fields and eras, have contributed to the rich tapestry of the name Keshona, carrying forward its essence of beauty, strength, and cultural pride.
People
Keshona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keshona 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
Keshona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keshona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 113 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keshona 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 3,033,224 US residents.
Is Keshona a common name?
We classify Keshona as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keshona most popular?
The single biggest year for Keshona was 1995, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keshona is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keshona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 123 people with the name Keshona, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,809 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 Keshona 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 Keshona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keshona leans strongly female. 123 people counted with this name were female (97.6%), compared with 3 male bearers (2.4%). 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 Keshona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keshona is Black at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Keshona most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Keshona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (115 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 Keshona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keshona a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keshona 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 Keshona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keshona 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 Keshona 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 called Keshona?
Find out how many Americans are named Keshona on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.