Khaya
Of African origin, meaning "life" or "homestead".
Name Census estimates that about 240 living Americans carry the first name Khaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Khaya today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Khaya births was 2014 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Khaya. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Khaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
240
~ 1 in 1,428,143 Americans
Peak year
2014
21 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,467
Tracked since 1993
Census
Khaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 332 people with the first name Khaya, which placed it at #27,518 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
#27,518
National first-name rank
People counted
332
332 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
41.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Khaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Khaya is Black at 41.0%. The next largest groups are White (36.7%) and Two or More Races (14.8%). 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 Khaya 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 Khaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American41.0% · 136
- White36.7% · 122
- Two or more races14.8% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Khaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Khaya 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 97 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
Khaya 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 Khaya 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 Khaya
The name Khaya has its origins in the Xhosa language, spoken by the Xhosa people of South Africa. It is a unisex name that has been in use for centuries, with its roots tracing back to the early Bantu civilizations of southern Africa.
In the Xhosa language, the word "khaya" means "home" or "homestead," reflecting the importance of family and community in traditional Xhosa culture. The name symbolizes a sense of belonging, security, and connection to one's roots.
Historically, the name Khaya has been associated with various notable figures in South African history. One of the earliest recorded examples is Khaya ka Ndlovu, a Xhosa chief who lived in the late 18th century and played a significant role in the resistance against colonial expansion.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Khaya was Khaya Majola, a celebrated Xhosa writer and poet who lived from 1915 to 1976. His works shed light on the struggles and experiences of the Xhosa people during the apartheid era, and he is regarded as a pioneering voice in South African literature.
In more recent times, the name Khaya has been carried by individuals from various walks of life. Khaya Mthethwa, born in 1976, is a South African actress and singer known for her roles in several television series and films.
Khaya Zondo, born in 1990, is a South African cricketer who has represented the national team in both Test and One Day International matches. His name has become synonymous with his achievements in the sporting world.
Khaya Sithole, born in 1994, is a South African artist and activist whose work explores themes of identity, social justice, and the experiences of marginalized communities. His art has gained recognition both locally and internationally.
While the name Khaya has its roots in the Xhosa culture, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity across South Africa and beyond, serving as a testament to the rich diversity and cultural heritage of the region.
People
Khaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Khaya 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
Khaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Khaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 240 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Khaya 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 1,428,143 US residents.
Is Khaya a common name?
We classify Khaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 243 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Khaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Khaya was 2014, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Khaya is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Khaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 332 people with the name Khaya, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,518 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 Khaya 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 Khaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Khaya leans strongly female. 291 people counted with this name were female (88.7%), compared with 37 male bearers (11.3%). 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 Khaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Khaya is Black at 41.0%. The next largest groups are White (36.7%) and Two or More Races (14.8%). 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 Khaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Khaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.0% (136 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 Khaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Khaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Khaya 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 Khaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Khaya 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 Khaya 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 share the name Khaya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.