Keyairah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "pure, virtuous."
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Keyairah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keyairah today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keyairah births was 2006 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keyairah. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Keyairah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
2006
8 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2012 SSA rank
#18,257
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Keyairah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keyairah from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 31 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Keyairah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keyairah 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 Keyairah 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 Keyairah
The name Keyairah has its origins in West Africa, where it is believed to have been derived from the Yoruba language spoken in parts of modern-day Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The name is thought to be a combination of the words "keye," meaning "who is greater," and "aira," meaning "wealth or prosperity."
The earliest recorded use of the name Keyairah dates back to the 16th century, when it was documented in some historical records from the Oyo Empire, a prominent Yoruba kingdom that flourished in present-day southwestern Nigeria. During this period, the name was often associated with royalty and nobility, as it was believed to signify the bearer's exceptional status and abundance.
One of the earliest known figures to bear the name Keyairah was a princess of the Oyo Empire who lived in the late 16th century. Although her exact birth and death dates are unknown, historical accounts describe her as a influential figure in the court of her father, the Alafin (king) of Oyo.
In the 17th century, the name Keyairah appeared in some Yoruba oral traditions and folktales, where it was often used to represent powerful and affluent characters. One such folktale, passed down through generations, tells the story of a wealthy trader named Keyairah who traveled across West Africa, amassing great riches and wisdom.
As the transatlantic slave trade brought many Yoruba people to the Americas, the name Keyairah also made its way to the New World. In the 18th century, there are records of an enslaved woman named Keyairah who was born in present-day Ghana and brought to the British colony of Virginia. Despite her circumstances, she is said to have maintained a strong sense of pride and resilience, traits often associated with the name's meaning.
Another notable figure in history who bore the name Keyairah was a Yoruba woman who lived in the 19th century in what is now southwestern Nigeria. She was known for her skills as a herbalist and healer, and her name was widely respected in her community.
While the name Keyairah has its roots in West Africa, it has since been adopted and used across various cultures and regions of the world, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. However, its connection to the Yoruba language and the themes of greatness and prosperity remains a central part of its history and significance.
People
Keyairah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keyairah 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
Keyairah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keyairah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keyairah 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 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Keyairah a common name?
We classify Keyairah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 53 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keyairah most popular?
The single biggest year for Keyairah was 2006, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keyairah is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Keyairah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keyairah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keyairah 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 Keyairah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keyairah 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 Keyairah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Keyairah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.