Keyin
A masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Welsh word "cain" meaning "fair" or "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Keyin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Keyin today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keyin births was 2008 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keyin. 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 Keyin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2008
6 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#11,884
Tracked since 2008
Census
Keyin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 104 people with the first name Keyin, which placed it at #52,876 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
#52,876
National first-name rank
People counted
104
104 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
37.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keyin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keyin is White at 37.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.9%) and Black (17.3%). 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 Keyin 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 Keyin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White37.5% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.9% · 29
- Black or African American17.3% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 8
- Two or more races5.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.8% · 4
Popularity
Keyin: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Keyin 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 Keyin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Keyin
The name Keyin has its roots in the ancient Gaelic language, originating from the Celtic tribes that inhabited parts of what is now Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It is believed to have emerged around the 5th century AD, during the early medieval period.
Keyin is derived from the Gaelic word "caoine," which means "gentle" or "kind." This suggests that the name was initially given to individuals who were perceived as having a gentle or compassionate nature. The spelling of the name has remained relatively consistent throughout its history, with minor variations such as "Keyan" or "Keyn."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Keyin can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a medieval chronicle that documented events in Ireland between the 5th and 16th centuries. The chronicle mentions a figure named Keyin mac Cuilennáin, who was a prominent leader in the Kingdom of Mide (modern-day County Westmeath) in the 8th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Keyin. One of the most well-known was Keyin O'Donnell (c. 1460-1505), an influential lord in Ulster, Ireland, who played a crucial role in the Tudor conquest of Ireland. Another prominent figure was Keyin O'Conor (c. 1150-1224), a king of Connacht, Ireland, who was renowned for his military prowess and his efforts to unite the Irish clans against the Anglo-Norman invasion.
In Scotland, Keyin Campbell (c. 1370-1440) was a distinguished warrior and nobleman who served as a close advisor to King James I of Scotland. He was instrumental in suppressing the Lord of the Isles' rebellion and played a pivotal role in the Battle of Harlaw in 1411.
In the realm of literature, Keyin O'Shaughnessy (1809-1889) was an Irish poet and journalist who became known for his works celebrating Irish culture and nationalism. His poems, such as "The Bard of Armagh," gained widespread popularity during the 19th century Irish literary revival.
Lastly, Keyin O'Malley (1918-2003) was an Irish-American politician and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1977 to 1979. He played a significant role in fostering stronger ties between the United States and Ireland during his tenure.
People
Keyin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keyin 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
Keyin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keyin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keyin 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Keyin a common name?
We classify Keyin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keyin most popular?
The single biggest year for Keyin was 2008, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keyin is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keyin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 104 people with the name Keyin, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,876 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 Keyin 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 Keyin?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Keyin on both sides of the split. Of the 108 people counted with this name, 76 were male (70.4%) and 32 were female (29.6%). 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 Keyin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keyin is White at 37.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.9%) and Black (17.3%). 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 Keyin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Keyin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.5% (39 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 Keyin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keyin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keyin in the SSA data are male. 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 Keyin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keyin 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 Keyin 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 named Keyin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.