Kinue
A feminine Japanese name meaning "trees budding in spring".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Kinue. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kinue today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kinue births was 1915 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kinue. 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 Kinue. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1915
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1929 SSA rank
#4,942
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Kinue: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kinue from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 11 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
Kinue 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 Kinue during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kinues live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kinue
The name Kinue has its origins in Japanese culture, with the first recorded use dating back to the 8th century. It is a combination of the Japanese words "ki" meaning "tree" and "nue" meaning "eternity" or "long life." Thus, the name Kinue can be interpreted as "eternal tree" or "tree of long life."
In ancient Japanese folklore, the name is associated with the mythical creature known as the Nue, a hybrid beast believed to be a harbinger of calamity and misfortune. According to legends, the Nue was a chimeric creature with the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog, the legs of a tiger, and a snake for a tail. Slaying the Nue was considered a great feat, and those who accomplished this were often bestowed with the name Kinue as a mark of honor and respect.
The earliest recorded example of the name Kinue can be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early 9th-century Japanese chronicle that documented the lives of emperors and nobles. One notable individual was Kinue no Kimi, a Japanese noblewoman who lived during the late 8th century and was known for her beauty and intelligence.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kinue. One such person was Kinue Hitomi (1888-1975), a Japanese writer and feminist who advocated for women's rights and gender equality. Another was Kinue Inoue (1888-1978), a renowned Japanese artist and painter who specialized in nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting style.
In the realm of Japanese literature, Kinue Natsume (1905-1997) was a celebrated author and poet, known for her contributions to the children's literature genre. Her works often explored themes of nature, childhood, and the human experience.
Another notable figure was Kinue Ito (1920-2008), a Japanese educator and advocate for women's education. She dedicated her life to promoting literacy and providing educational opportunities for women, particularly in rural areas of Japan.
Lastly, Kinue Nakano (1942-2021) was a pioneering Japanese computer scientist and engineer, best known for her work in artificial intelligence and robotics. She was one of the first women to achieve significant recognition in the field of computer science in Japan.
People
Kinue + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kinue 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
Kinue: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kinue?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kinue 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 - US residents.
Is Kinue a common name?
We classify Kinue as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kinue most popular?
The single biggest year for Kinue was 1915, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kinue is about 0 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 Kinue in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kinue a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kinue 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 Kinue still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kinue 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 Kinue 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 Kinue?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.