Keyani
A feminine name of Native American origin meaning "flower".
Name Census estimates that about 433 living Americans carry the first name Keyani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keyani today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keyani births was 2023 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keyani. 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
433
~ 1 in 791,580 Americans
Peak year
2023
39 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,205
Tracked since 1992
Census
Keyani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 274 people with the first name Keyani, which placed it at #31,306 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
#31,306
National first-name rank
People counted
274
274 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keyani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keyani is Black at 71.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (9.5%). 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 Keyani 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 Keyani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.5% · 196
- Hispanic or Latino10.9% · 30
- Two or more races9.5% · 26
- White4.0% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 4
Popularity
Keyani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keyani from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 150 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keyani 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 Keyani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keyanis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Keyani
The name Keyani is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language, which was widely spoken in the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period, dating back to around 1500 BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "keya," meaning "ray of light" or "beam of light," and is often associated with radiance, beauty, and enlightenment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Keyani can be found in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, where it is mentioned as the name of a minor character. This ancient text, composed between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE, is a significant source of cultural and religious traditions in India.
In the realm of historical figures, one notable bearer of the name Keyani was Keyani Bakhtiari, a Persian princess and influential figure in the Bakhtiari tribe of Iran during the late 19th century. She played a crucial role in the tribal politics of the region and was known for her leadership and negotiation skills.
Another prominent individual with the name Keyani was Keyani Khosravi, an Iranian poet and mystic who lived in the 11th century CE. Her poetic works, which often explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human experience, were highly regarded during her lifetime and continue to be studied today.
In more recent history, Keyani Jayantilal was an Indian freedom fighter and social activist who dedicated her life to the cause of Indian independence from British rule in the early 20th century. She was actively involved in the non-violent resistance movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and played a significant role in raising awareness about the struggles of the Indian people.
Keyani Mambetova was a renowned Kyrgyz writer and playwright who lived in the 20th century. Her literary works, which often explored the traditions and cultural heritage of the Kyrgyz people, were instrumental in preserving and promoting the rich cultural identity of her nation.
It is worth noting that while these historical examples provide insights into the use and significance of the name Keyani throughout different eras and cultures, the name's popularity and meaning may have evolved or taken on new interpretations over time.
People
Keyani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keyani 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
Keyani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keyani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 433 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keyani 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 791,580 US residents.
Is Keyani a common name?
We classify Keyani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 438 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keyani most popular?
The single biggest year for Keyani was 2023, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keyani is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keyani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 274 people with the name Keyani, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,306 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 Keyani 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 Keyani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keyani leans strongly female. 257 people counted with this name were female (94.1%), compared with 16 male bearers (5.9%). 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 Keyani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keyani is Black at 71.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (9.5%). 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 Keyani most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Keyani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.5% (196 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 Keyani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keyani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keyani 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 Keyani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keyani 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 Keyani 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 common is the name Keyani?
See how many people have the name Keyani on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.