Keyshaun
A masculine name of African-American origin meaning "cautious" or "watchful".
Name Census estimates that about 694 living Americans carry the first name Keyshaun. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Keyshaun today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keyshaun births was 2000 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keyshaun. 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
694
~ 1 in 493,882 Americans
Peak year
2000
54 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,427
Tracked since 1996
Census
Keyshaun in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 538 people with the first name Keyshaun, which placed it at #19,583 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
#19,583
National first-name rank
People counted
538
538 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keyshaun
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keyshaun is Black at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.4%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Keyshaun 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 Keyshaun at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.6% · 450
- Two or more races7.4% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 24
- White2.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 9
Popularity
Keyshaun: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keyshaun from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 423 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keyshaun 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 Keyshaun during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keyshauns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Keyshaun, while California, North Carolina, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keyshaun
The name Keyshaun is a relatively modern variant of the traditional African name Keyshawn. It is believed to have originated in the United States during the late 20th century, likely among African American communities.
The name Keyshaun is a combination of two elements: "Key" and "Shaun." The first part, "Key," is derived from the Hebrew name Kiah, which means "to establish" or "to open." The second part, "Shaun," is a variant of the Irish name Seán, which is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious."
While the name Keyshaun does not have a long historical record, it shares its roots with some ancient names and traditions. The Hebrew name Kiah appears in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Ezra, where it is mentioned as the name of a Levite. The name Yohanan, from which Shaun is derived, is also found in the Bible and was borne by several prominent figures, including John the Baptist.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Keyshaun is Keyshaun Simpson, an American basketball player born in 1992. Simpson played college basketball for the University of South Carolina Upstate and later pursued a professional career in various leagues.
Another notable bearer of the name is Keyshaun Langford, an American football player born in 1995. Langford played college football for the University of Georgia and was later signed by the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
Keyshaun Thrailkill, born in 1993, is an American football player who played college football for the University of Arkansas and later signed with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
Keyshaun Malik Sims, born in 1997, is an American basketball player who played for the University of Tennessee at Martin. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2017.
Keyshaun Shelton, born in 1997, is an American football player who played college football for the University of Michigan and later signed with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2021.
While the name Keyshaun is relatively new and does not have a long historical record, it has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly among African American communities in the United States. Its roots can be traced back to ancient Hebrew and Irish names, reflecting the diverse cultural influences that have shaped modern naming traditions.
People
Keyshaun + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keyshaun 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
Keyshaun: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keyshaun?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 694 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keyshaun 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 493,882 US residents.
Is Keyshaun a common name?
We classify Keyshaun as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 703 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keyshaun most popular?
The single biggest year for Keyshaun was 2000, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keyshaun is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keyshaun in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 538 people with the name Keyshaun, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,583 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 Keyshaun 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 Keyshaun?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keyshaun leans strongly male. 526 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 12 female bearers (2.2%). 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 Keyshaun?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keyshaun is Black at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.4%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Keyshaun most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Keyshaun in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.6% (450 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 Keyshaun in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keyshaun a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keyshaun 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 Keyshaun still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keyshaun 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 Keyshaun 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 Keyshaun?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.