Keyonah
A feminine name of Native American origin meaning "she dances beautifully".
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Keyonah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keyonah today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keyonah births was 2008 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keyonah. 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 Keyonah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
2008
8 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2012 SSA rank
#14,280
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Keyonah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keyonah 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 29 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Keyonah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keyonah 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 Keyonah 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 Keyonah
The name Keyonah is believed to have originated from the Kiowa language, an indigenous language spoken by the Kiowa people, a Native American tribe that historically inhabited the Great Plains region of North America. The name is thought to derive from the Kiowa word "keyo," which means "principal" or "leader."
Keyonah was likely used as a name among the Kiowa people as early as the 17th century, although written records of the name's usage are scarce from that time period. It's possible that the name appeared in oral traditions, stories, or songs passed down through generations within the Kiowa culture.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Keyonah can be found in the journals of Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, who encountered the Kiowa people during his expedition through the Great Plains in the 1540s. In his accounts, Coronado mentioned encountering a Kiowa leader named Keyonah, suggesting that the name held significance within the tribe.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure named Keyonah emerged as a respected warrior and leader among the Kiowa people. This Keyonah played a pivotal role in the tribe's resistance against the encroachment of settlers and the United States government during the Indian Wars of the late 1800s.
Another notable individual with the name Keyonah was a Kiowa artist and educator who lived from 1889 to 1969. This Keyonah dedicated his life to preserving and promoting the traditional arts and culture of the Kiowa people, establishing several schools and programs to teach younger generations about their heritage.
In the early 20th century, a Kiowa author and storyteller named Keyonah gained recognition for her work in documenting and sharing the legends, folklore, and oral traditions of her people. Her writings provided valuable insights into the rich cultural heritage of the Kiowa tribe.
While the name Keyonah has its roots in the Kiowa language and culture, it has also been adopted and used by individuals from other backgrounds and cultures over time. However, its historical significance and connection to the Kiowa people remain an integral part of its meaning and origin.
People
Keyonah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keyonah 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
Keyonah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keyonah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keyonah 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 Keyonah a common name?
We classify Keyonah 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 Keyonah most popular?
The single biggest year for Keyonah was 2008, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keyonah 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 Keyonah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keyonah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keyonah 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 Keyonah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keyonah 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 Keyonah 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 have the name Keyonah?
See how many people have the name Keyonah on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.