Kima
A feminine Arabic name meaning "perfection, excellence, masterpiece".
Name Census estimates that about 340 living Americans carry the first name Kima. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kima today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kima births was 2021 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kima. 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
340
~ 1 in 1,008,101 Americans
Peak year
2021
23 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,763
Tracked since 1953
Census
Kima in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 468 people with the first name Kima, which placed it at #21,612 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
#21,612
National first-name rank
People counted
468
468 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
46.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kima
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kima is Black at 46.2%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Kima 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 Kima at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.2% · 216
- White38.2% · 179
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 30
- Two or more races5.1% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Kima: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kima from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 92 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
Kima 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 Kima during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kimas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Kima, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kima
The given name Kima originates from the Swahili language spoken primarily in East Africa, particularly in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The name is believed to have its roots in the ancient Bantu languages, which are a group of languages spoken across a vast region of sub-Saharan Africa.
Kima is derived from the Swahili word "kima," which means "to blossom" or "to bloom." This connection suggests that the name may have been given to children as a symbol of growth, fertility, and new beginnings. The name's origins can be traced back to the early centuries of the second millennium.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kima is found in the 17th century Swahili epic poem "Utendi wa Tambuka," which tells the story of a legendary Swahili ruler. In this epic, Kima is mentioned as the name of a prominent figure, although the exact details of their role are not entirely clear.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kima. One of the most famous was Kima Mbogoni, a Tanzanian politician and diplomat who served as the first Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania from 1962 to 1965. Another prominent individual was Kima Bizunesh, an Ethiopian aristocrat and military commander who played a significant role in the Ethiopian-Adal War in the 16th century.
In the realm of literature, Kima Kashetu was a renowned Swahili poet and scholar who lived in the 19th century and contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of Swahili literature and culture. Additionally, Kima Nchanga was a respected Tanzanian artist and sculptor known for his intricate wood carvings depicting traditional African life and culture.
Another notable figure was Kima Gabriyel, an Eritrean guerrilla fighter and military leader who played a crucial role in the Eritrean War of Independence against Ethiopia in the late 20th century. His bravery and leadership during the conflict earned him widespread recognition and respect among his fellow countrymen.
While the name Kima has its origins in East Africa, it has gained popularity and recognition in various parts of the world over the centuries, with individuals from different cultures and backgrounds embracing this name and its symbolic meanings.
People
Kima + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kima 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
Kima: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kima?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 340 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kima 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 1,008,101 US residents.
Is Kima a common name?
We classify Kima as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 369 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kima most popular?
The single biggest year for Kima was 2021, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kima is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kima in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 468 people with the name Kima, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,612 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 Kima 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 Kima?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kima leans strongly female. 432 people counted with this name were female (91.1%), compared with 42 male bearers (8.9%). 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 Kima?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kima is Black at 46.2%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Kima most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kima in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.2% (216 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 Kima in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kima a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kima 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 Kima still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kima 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 Kima 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 Americans are named Kima?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.