Khyel
A name of Mongolian origin meaning "clear, translucent, transparent".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Khyel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Khyel today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Khyel births was 2020 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Khyel. 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 Khyel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2020
6 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2020 SSA rank
#11,355
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Khyel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Khyel from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 6 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
Khyel 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 Khyel 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 Khyel
The name Khyel is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3500 BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "khya," meaning "to shine" or "to be radiant." This suggests that the name was originally given to individuals who were perceived as having a bright or luminous presence.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Khyel can be found in the Sumerian clay tablets known as the Cuneiform Tablets of Uruk, dated to around 3100 BCE. These tablets contain lists of names, professions, and other administrative records from the ancient city of Uruk, which was one of the first major urban centers in Mesopotamia.
In the ancient Akkadian language, which was closely related to Sumerian, the name may have been written as "Khiel" or "Khyalu." This variant spelling can be found in some of the cuneiform inscriptions from the Old Babylonian period, spanning from around 1894 BCE to 1595 BCE.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Khyel was a Sumerian scribe who lived in the city of Nippur around 2500 BCE. He is mentioned in a clay tablet that records his work in copying and preserving ancient texts from the temple library of the city.
Another notable figure with the name Khyel was an Akkadian poet and scholar who lived during the reign of King Sargon of Akkad (2334 BCE – 2279 BCE). He is credited with writing a collection of poems and hymns that celebrated the conquests and accomplishments of the king.
In the ancient Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known literary works in human history, there is a character named Khyel who is described as a wise and skilled warrior. This epic dates back to around 2100 BCE and was likely based on older Sumerian stories and legends.
During the Neo-Babylonian period, which lasted from 626 BCE to 539 BCE, there was a prominent Babylonian astronomer and mathematician named Khyel-Anu. He is known for his contributions to the development of the Babylonian calendar and for his observations of celestial events, which were recorded on clay tablets.
In the Persian Empire, which ruled over much of the ancient Middle East from 550 BCE to 330 BCE, there was a notable Persian general named Khyel-Darius. He served under King Darius I and is mentioned in the Behistun Inscription, a famous multilingual inscription carved into a rock face in modern-day Iran.
People
Khyel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Khyel 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
Khyel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Khyel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Khyel 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Khyel a common name?
We classify Khyel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Khyel most popular?
The single biggest year for Khyel was 2020, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Khyel is about 7 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 Khyel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Khyel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Khyel 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 Khyel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Khyel 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 Khyel 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 share the name Khyel?
Want to know how many people have the name Khyel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.