Kaine
Short, vigorous burst or outpouring, a masculine name of uncertain origin.
Name Census estimates that about 3,448 living Americans carry the first name Kaine. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kaine today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaine births was 2017 (200 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaine. 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 Kaine with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Kaine is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.4K
~ 1 in 99,407 Americans
Peak year
2017
200 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,468
Tracked since 1973
Census
Kaine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,286 people with the first name Kaine, which placed it at #6,871 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
#6,871
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,286 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaine is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (12.7%). 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 Kaine 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 Kaine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.0% · 1,348
- Black or African American14.5% · 331
- Hispanic or Latino12.7% · 290
- Two or more races9.9% · 227
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 40
Popularity
Kaine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaine 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 1,327 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kaine remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaine 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 Kaine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kaine, while Mississippi, Kansas, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 56 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaine
The given name Kaine is believed to have its origins in the ancient Etruscan language, which was spoken in parts of what is now Italy during the 8th century BC. It is thought to be derived from the Etruscan word "kaina," which roughly translates to "new" or "fresh."
Interestingly, the name Kaine has been found inscribed on a few ancient Etruscan artifacts, such as pottery and burial sites, although its exact meaning and usage in that context remain uncertain. Some scholars suggest it may have been a name given to newborn children or used to signify new beginnings.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kaine was a Roman soldier who lived during the 1st century AD. His full name was Quintus Kaine, and he served in the Roman legions during the reign of Emperor Nero. Beyond this, little is known about his life or accomplishments.
In the 4th century AD, there was a Christian martyr named Kaine who was persecuted and executed for his faith during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. His story is recounted in some early Christian texts, although the details are somewhat scarce.
During the Middle Ages, the name Kaine seems to have fallen out of use, likely due to the decline of the Etruscan language and culture. It wasn't until the Renaissance period that the name resurfaced, particularly in Italy.
One notable figure from this time was Kaine Buonarroti, an Italian sculptor and architect who lived from 1494 to 1557. He was a contemporary of the famous Michelangelo and worked on several prominent buildings and structures in Rome and other Italian cities.
In more recent history, there was a French nobleman named Kaine de Montmorency who lived from 1768 to 1826. He was a prominent figure during the French Revolution and later served as a diplomat and politician under Emperor Napoleon.
Another individual with the name Kaine was Kaine Marley, a Jamaican musician and reggae artist who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for his unique blend of reggae and dub music and released several influential albums during his career.
People
Kaine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaine 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
Kaine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,448 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaine 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 99,407 US residents.
Is Kaine a common name?
We classify Kaine as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,491 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaine most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaine was 2017, when 200 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaine is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,286 people with the name Kaine, or 0.76 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,871 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 Kaine 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 Kaine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaine leans strongly male. 2,254 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 33 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Kaine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaine is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (12.7%). 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 Kaine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.0% (1,348 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 Kaine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaine a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaine 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 Kaine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaine 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 Kaine 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 are called Kaine?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.