Kion
Originating from Swahili, it refers to something of great power and majesty.
Name Census estimates that about 1,243 living Americans carry the first name Kion. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kion today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kion births was 2017 (128 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kion. 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 Kion with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Kion is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 275,748 Americans
Peak year
2017
128 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,971
Tracked since 1975
Census
Kion in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 854 people with the first name Kion, which placed it at #13,954 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
#13,954
National first-name rank
People counted
854
854 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kion
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kion is Black at 68.7%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Kion 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 Kion at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.7% · 587
- White10.3% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 72
- Two or more races8.1% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 5
Popularity
Kion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kion from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 501 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kion remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kion 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 Kion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Kion, while Tennessee, New Jersey, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kion
The name Kion is believed to have its origins in the Swahili language, which is widely spoken in East Africa, particularly in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. It is derived from the Swahili word "kion," which means "king" or "ruler."
In Swahili culture, names often carry significant meanings and can reflect the hopes, aspirations, or circumstances surrounding a child's birth. The name Kion was likely given to express the parents' desire for their son to possess qualities associated with leadership, strength, and authority.
While the exact origins of the name Kion are not well-documented, it is believed to have been in use among Swahili-speaking communities for centuries. However, there are no known historical references to the name in ancient texts or religious scriptures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kion can be found in the late 19th century, when it was used by a Kenyan nobleman and leader, Kion Mwangi (1865-1943). He was a prominent figure in the resistance against British colonial rule and played a significant role in the Giriama uprising of the 1920s.
Another notable figure who bore the name Kion was Kion Ngatho (1890-1972), a Kenyan politician and activist who advocated for the rights of the Kikuyu people during the colonial era. He was a member of the Kenyan African Union and worked tirelessly to promote the interests of his community.
In more recent history, Kion Kashefi (1949-2018) was an Afghan writer, poet, and academic. He authored several books and was known for his contributions to Afghan literature and culture.
Kion Nushi (born 1972) is an Albanian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his critically acclaimed films, which often explore themes of identity, family, and social issues.
Kion Ahadi (born 1983) is a Tanzanian musician and singer-songwriter. He has gained popularity for his fusion of traditional Swahili music with contemporary styles, and his songs often carry messages of social awareness and empowerment.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Kion throughout history. While not an exhaustive list, it highlights the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of those who have borne this name.
People
Kion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kion 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
Kion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,243 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kion 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 275,748 US residents.
Is Kion a common name?
We classify Kion as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,260 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kion most popular?
The single biggest year for Kion was 2017, when 128 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kion is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kion in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 854 people with the name Kion, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,954 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 Kion 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 Kion?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kion leans strongly male. 823 people counted with this name were male (95.6%), compared with 38 female bearers (4.4%). 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 Kion?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kion is Black at 68.7%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Kion most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.7% (587 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 Kion in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kion a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kion 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 Kion still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kion 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 Kion 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 people share the name Kion?
Want to know how many people have the name Kion? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.