NameCensus.
Rare

Kitana

A feminine name of Japanese origin meaning "north".

Name Census estimates that about 1,605 living Americans carry the first name Kitana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kitana today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kitana births was 1996 (87 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Kitana. 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

  • Kitana 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

1.6K

~ 1 in 213,554 Americans

Peak year

1996

87 babies that year

Average age

16

years old

2024 SSA rank

#2,940

Tracked since 1994

Popularity

Kitana: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Kitana 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 565 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kitana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.

Babies born per year

022446587199520002005201020152020

Decades

Kitana 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 Kitana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1990s0315315
2000s0447447
2010s0565565
2020s0300300

Geography

Where Kitanas live

The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Kitana, while Virginia, Georgia, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.

Origin

Meaning and history of Kitana

The name Kitana is believed to have its origins in the Japanese language and culture. It is thought to be derived from the Japanese word "kitana," which means "beautiful" or "elegant." This suggests that the name may have been given to children with the hope that they would embody these qualities.

The earliest recorded use of the name Kitana dates back to the 17th century in Japan. During this time period, the name was likely used primarily within Japanese noble and samurai families, as names with more ornate or poetic meanings were often favored among the upper classes.

In ancient Japanese literature, there are a few references to characters with names similar to Kitana. For example, in the classic tale "The Tale of Genji," written in the early 11th century, there is a character named Kitanokaji, which translates to "beautiful tree." While not an exact match, this name shares the "kitan" element, which could be related to the root of Kitana.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kitana was Kitana Shōshin, a Japanese Buddhist monk and calligrapher who lived from 1670 to 1740. He was known for his skilled brushwork and for helping to preserve and promote the art of calligraphy during his lifetime.

Another notable Kitana from history was Kitana Hiroshige, a Japanese artist and ukiyo-e woodblock print master who lived from 1797 to 1858. He is particularly renowned for his landscape prints depicting scenes from the Tōkaidō road, which connected the cities of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and Kyoto.

In the 19th century, there was a Japanese poet and author named Kitana Akiko, born in 1878 and known for her works exploring themes of nature, love, and the human condition. Her poetry collections, such as "Tansoku" and "Shūcho," were widely celebrated during her lifetime.

Moving into the 20th century, Kitana Yasuko was a Japanese sculptor and ceramicist who lived from 1915 to 2005. She is remembered for her intricate ceramic sculptures and for helping to promote the art of ceramics both within Japan and internationally.

Finally, Kitana Eri was a Japanese actress and singer who lived from 1936 to 2019. She had a successful career in both film and television, appearing in numerous popular movies and TV series throughout her long career spanning several decades.

While the name Kitana has its roots in Japanese culture, it has since gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in the United States and other Western countries, where it is often seen as an elegant and exotic-sounding name.

People

Kitana + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Kitana 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

Kitana: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Kitana?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,605 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kitana 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 213,554 US residents.

Is Kitana a common name?

We classify Kitana as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,627 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Kitana most popular?

The single biggest year for Kitana was 1996, when 87 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kitana is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Kitana a female name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kitana 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.

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.

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