Kirie
A Japanese feminine name meaning "paulownia tree" or "bellflower".
Name Census estimates that about 50 living Americans carry the first name Kirie. It is a predominantly female name (90.2% of registrations). The average person named Kirie today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kirie births was 2014 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kirie. 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 Kirie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
50
~ 1 in 6,855,087 Americans
Peak year
2014
10 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,570
Tracked since 1998
Gender
Gender distribution for Kirie
Kirie leans heavily female at 90.2% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kirie as a male name
- Ranked #13,292 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (5 births)
Kirie as a female name
- Ranked #10,570 in 2014
- 10 female births in 2014
- Peak: 2014 (10 births)
Popularity
Kirie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kirie from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 25 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
Kirie 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 Kirie 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 Kirie
The name Kirie is derived from the Greek word "kyrie," which means "lord" or "master." It is a feminine form of the name Kyrios, which was used as a title for Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The name has its roots in early Christianity and has been in use since the 4th century AD.
Kirie was initially used as a religious name among early Christian communities in the Mediterranean region, particularly in Greece, parts of the Middle East, and North Africa. It was often given to girls born into devout Christian families or those dedicated to the church or religious life.
The name gained popularity during the Byzantine Empire, where it was commonly used among Greek Orthodox Christians. It was also adopted by various other Eastern Christian communities, such as the Coptic and Armenian churches.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kirie can be found in the writings of the 4th-century Christian philosopher and theologian, St. Gregory of Nazianzus. He mentions a woman named Kirie in one of his letters.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name was used across Christian communities in Europe, with variations in spelling and pronunciation due to regional differences. Notable historical figures with the name Kirie include St. Kirie of Tarsus (c. 290-305 AD), a Christian martyr from Cilicia; and Kirie of Alexandria (c. 450-520 AD), a Coptic Christian nun and writer.
In the Byzantine Empire, Kirie was also associated with royalty and nobility. One notable figure was Empress Kirie Doukas (c. 1020-1103), the wife of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Another was the 13th-century princess Kirie Laskarina, who was married to the ruler of Trebizond.
During the Renaissance and Reformation periods, the name remained popular among Christian communities, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Kirie Ganina (c. 1490-1556) was a Bulgarian Orthodox nun and writer during this time.
In more recent history, Kirie has been used as a given name in various parts of Europe, particularly in Greece, Russia, and other Eastern European countries with significant Orthodox Christian populations. Notable bearers include the 19th-century Russian writer Kirie Trediakovsky (1778-1839) and the 20th-century Greek actress Kirie Koumantou (1922-2008).
People
Kirie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kirie 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
Kirie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kirie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kirie 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 6,855,087 US residents.
Is Kirie a common name?
We classify Kirie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 51 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kirie most popular?
The single biggest year for Kirie was 2014, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kirie is about 15 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 Kirie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kirie a female name?
Yes, 90.2% of people registered as Kirie 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 Kirie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kirie 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 Kirie 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 Americans are named Kirie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.