Kaiana
A feminine name of Hawaiian origin meaning "the dancer".
Name Census estimates that about 230 living Americans carry the first name Kaiana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaiana today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaiana births was 2011 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaiana. 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.
People living today
230
~ 1 in 1,490,236 Americans
Peak year
2011
16 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,713
Tracked since 1995
Census
Kaiana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 215 people with the first name Kaiana, which placed it at #36,733 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
#36,733
National first-name rank
People counted
215
215 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Two or more races
24.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaiana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaiana is Two or More Races at 24.2%. The next largest groups are White (22.3%) and Black (21.4%). 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 Kaiana 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 Kaiana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Two or more races24.2% · 52
- White22.3% · 48
- Black or African American21.4% · 46
- Hispanic or Latino15.8% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.3% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Kaiana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaiana 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 84 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kaiana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaiana 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 Kaiana 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 Kaiana
The name Kaiana originates from the Hawaiian language and culture. It is a beautiful and melodic name that has been used in the Hawaiian Islands for centuries. The name is believed to be derived from the Hawaiian words "kai," meaning sea or ocean, and "ana," meaning light or radiant.
Kaiana is a fitting name for the Hawaiian Islands, which are surrounded by the vast and beautiful Pacific Ocean. The name evokes images of sparkling ocean waves, golden sunsets, and the warm, welcoming spirit of the Hawaiian people.
While the name has ancient roots in Hawaiian culture, there is little recorded evidence of its use in historical texts or religious scriptures. However, it is likely that the name was passed down through oral tradition and used among the native Hawaiian people for generations.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Kaiana can be found in the 19th century. Kaiana Kapunahou (1827-1899) was a Hawaiian noble and chiefess who played a significant role in the Kingdom of Hawaii during the reign of King Kamehameha III.
Another notable figure with the name Kaiana was Kaiana Alvarez (1888-1978), a Hawaiian musician and composer known for her contributions to the traditional Hawaiian music genre. Her compositions, such as "Ke Kali Nei Au" and "Aloha Oe," have become enduring classics in Hawaiian music.
In the 20th century, Kaiana Vaughn (1923-2008) was an American actress and dancer who appeared in several Hollywood films and television shows. She was known for her performances in movies like "South Pacific" and "The King and I."
Kaiana Wilcox (1941-2020) was a Hawaiian activist and advocate for indigenous rights. She dedicated her life to preserving and protecting the cultural heritage and land rights of the Native Hawaiian people.
Kaiana Jones (born 1985) is a contemporary Hawaiian artist and sculptor known for her intricate and symbolic works that celebrate Hawaiian culture and traditions. Her sculptures have been featured in numerous exhibitions and galleries across the Hawaiian Islands and the mainland United States.
The name Kaiana continues to be a popular choice among Hawaiian families, reflecting the deep connection to their cultural roots and the beauty of the island's natural surroundings.
People
Kaiana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaiana 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
Kaiana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaiana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 230 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaiana 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 1,490,236 US residents.
Is Kaiana a common name?
We classify Kaiana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 233 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaiana most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaiana was 2011, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaiana is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaiana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 215 people with the name Kaiana, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,733 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 Kaiana 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 Kaiana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaiana leans strongly female. 184 people counted with this name were female (86.0%), compared with 30 male bearers (14.0%). 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 Kaiana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaiana is Two or More Races at 24.2%. The next largest groups are White (22.3%) and Black (21.4%). 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 Kaiana most often in the Census?
Two or More Races is the largest reported group for people named Kaiana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 24.2% (52 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 Kaiana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaiana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaiana 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 Kaiana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaiana 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 Kaiana 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 common is the name Kaiana?
See how many people share the name Kaiana on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.