Kimiyah
An Arabic feminine name meaning "alchemy" or "chemistry".
Name Census estimates that about 181 living Americans carry the first name Kimiyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kimiyah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kimiyah births was 2013 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kimiyah. 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 Kimiyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
181
~ 1 in 1,893,670 Americans
Peak year
2013
14 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,669
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Kimiyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kimiyah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 106 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kimiyah 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 Kimiyah 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 Kimiyah
The name Kimiyah is of Arabic origin and is derived from the word "kimiya," which means "alchemy" or "chemistry." The name is believed to have emerged during the Islamic Golden Age, a period between the 8th and 13th centuries when Muslim scholars made significant advancements in various fields, including alchemy and chemistry.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kimiyah can be found in ancient Arabic texts on alchemy and chemistry. These texts often mentioned the term "kimiya" as a reference to the study of transforming base metals into gold and the pursuit of the legendary "philosopher's stone."
In the 9th century, a Persian alchemist named Jabir ibn Hayyan, also known as Geber, made significant contributions to the field of alchemy and is considered one of the most influential figures in the development of modern chemistry. His works, which were written in Arabic, frequently mentioned the term "kimiya," and it is possible that the name Kimiyah may have been derived from his writings or influenced by his work.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kimiyah. One such person was Kimiyah al-Andalusiya, a 12th-century Andalusian woman who was a prominent scholar and philosopher. She is renowned for her contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences.
Another notable figure was Kimiyah al-Baghdadi, a 13th-century Iraqi mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and the study of planetary motion.
In the 15th century, Kimiyah al-Maghribi was a renowned Moroccan scholar and theologian who wrote extensively on Islamic jurisprudence and theology.
During the 16th century, Kimiyah al-Misri was an Egyptian physician and alchemist who authored several treatises on the theory and practice of alchemy, as well as works on medicine and pharmacology.
In more recent times, Kimiyah al-Jaza'iri was a 19th-century Algerian poet and writer who gained recognition for her literary works, which often explored themes of love, spirituality, and Arabic culture.
While the name Kimiyah has its roots in the Arab world and the Islamic Golden Age, it has since spread to other cultures and regions, with individuals bearing this name in various parts of the world.
People
Kimiyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kimiyah 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
Kimiyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kimiyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 181 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kimiyah 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 1,893,670 US residents.
Is Kimiyah a common name?
We classify Kimiyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 183 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kimiyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Kimiyah was 2013, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kimiyah is about 13 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 Kimiyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kimiyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kimiyah 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 Kimiyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kimiyah 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 Kimiyah 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 Kimiyah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.