Kinjal
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "small dagger".
Name Census estimates that about 84 living Americans carry the first name Kinjal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kinjal today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kinjal births was 1987 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kinjal. 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 Kinjal with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kinjal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
84
~ 1 in 4,080,409 Americans
Peak year
1987
10 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2014 SSA rank
#13,862
Tracked since 1984
Census
Kinjal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 960 people with the first name Kinjal, which placed it at #12,808 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
#12,808
National first-name rank
People counted
960
960 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kinjal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kinjal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Kinjal 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 Kinjal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.7% · 928
- White1.4% · 13
- Two or more races0.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 6
- Black or African American0.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Kinjal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kinjal from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 47 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Kinjal remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kinjal 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 Kinjal 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 Kinjal
The name Kinjal is of Sanskrit origin, derived from the word "Kinjalk" which means "blade" or "dagger." It is a name predominantly found in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions like Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The earliest recorded instances of this name date back to the medieval period in India, around the 10th-12th centuries.
In Hindu mythology, the Kinjal or dagger symbolizes strength, power, and protection against evil forces. It is believed that the name Kinjal was given to children with the hope that they would grow up to be brave and courageous individuals, capable of overcoming life's challenges with determination and resilience.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing this name was Kinjal Devi, a Rajput princess who lived in the 12th century. She was renowned for her valor and military prowess, having led her army into battle against invading forces. Her bravery and leadership skills were celebrated in various folk tales and ballads of the time.
Another notable figure was Kinjal Singh, a Rajput warrior from the 16th century, who fought alongside Maharana Pratap against the Mughal forces in the famous Battle of Haldighati. His unwavering courage and dedication to his cause earned him a place in the annals of Rajput history.
In the realm of literature, Kinjal Basu was a prominent Bengali poet and playwright of the 19th century. Born in 1835, his works explored themes of social reform, patriotism, and the struggle for independence. His poetic compositions were widely acclaimed and continue to be studied and appreciated to this day.
Moving into the 20th century, Kinjal Sinha was an Indian freedom fighter who actively participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Born in 1892, she dedicated her life to the cause of India's independence and was imprisoned multiple times for her involvement in various protests and civil disobedience campaigns.
Lastly, Kinjal Desai is a contemporary Indian author and journalist, known for her award-winning novels and short stories. Born in 1971, her works often explore the complexities of modern Indian society, addressing issues of gender, identity, and cultural clashes. Her debut novel, "Inheritance," was widely acclaimed and earned her numerous accolades.
People
Kinjal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kinjal 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
Kinjal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kinjal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 84 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kinjal 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 4,080,409 US residents.
Is Kinjal a common name?
We classify Kinjal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 87 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kinjal most popular?
The single biggest year for Kinjal was 1987, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kinjal is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kinjal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 960 people with the name Kinjal, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,808 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 Kinjal 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 Kinjal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kinjal leans strongly female. 823 people counted with this name were female (86.1%), compared with 133 male bearers (13.9%). 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 Kinjal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kinjal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Kinjal most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kinjal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (928 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 Kinjal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kinjal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kinjal 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 Kinjal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kinjal 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 Kinjal 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 Kinjal?
See how many people have the name Kinjal on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.