Kwanzaa
An annual cultural celebration honoring African-American values and history.
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Kwanzaa. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Kwanzaa today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kwanzaa births was 1994 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kwanzaa. 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 Kwanzaa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
1994
10 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,544
Tracked since 1984
Gender
Gender distribution for Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa leans heavily female at 87.2% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kwanzaa as a male name
- Ranked #9,544 in 1993
- 5 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1993 (5 births)
Kwanzaa as a female name
- Ranked #10,079 in 1995
- 8 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1994 (10 births)
Popularity
Kwanzaa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kwanzaa from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 34 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
Kwanzaa 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 Kwanzaa 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 Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a relatively modern name, coined in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, the founder of the Kwanzaa celebration. It is derived from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," which translates to "first fruits." The name was created specifically for the Kwanzaa holiday, which was established as a Pan-African celebration of family, community, and culture.
The Swahili language, from which Kwanzaa originates, is a Bantu language spoken primarily in East and Central Africa. It has its roots in various indigenous African languages and has been influenced by Arabic, Persian, and other languages due to historical trade and cultural exchange in the region.
While the name Kwanzaa itself does not have a long historical record, it has become significant in recent decades as a symbol of African-American identity and cultural unity. It is closely associated with the Kwanzaa celebration, which incorporates various African traditions and values.
Since its inception in the late 1960s, Kwanzaa has been celebrated by millions of people around the world, particularly within the African diaspora. While it is not a personal name in the traditional sense, it has been adopted as a given name by some individuals as a way to honor and embrace their African heritage.
It is important to note that Kwanzaa is a unique and distinct name, specifically created for the Kwanzaa holiday, and does not have a long historical lineage like many other given names. Its significance lies in its representation of African-American cultural identity and the celebration of unity, family, and community.
People
Kwanzaa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kwanzaa 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
Kwanzaa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kwanzaa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kwanzaa 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 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Kwanzaa a common name?
We classify Kwanzaa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 39 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kwanzaa most popular?
The single biggest year for Kwanzaa was 1994, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kwanzaa is about 34 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 Kwanzaa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kwanzaa a female name?
Yes, 87.2% of people registered as Kwanzaa 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 Kwanzaa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kwanzaa 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 Kwanzaa 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 are named Kwanzaa?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Kwanzaa at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.