Kei
A unisex name of Japanese origin meaning "blessing" or "respect".
Name Census estimates that about 794 living Americans carry the first name Kei. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Kei today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kei births was 2015 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kei. 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 Kei with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
794
~ 1 in 431,681 Americans
Peak year
2015
40 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,624
Tracked since 1920
Census
Kei in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,552 people with the first name Kei, which placed it at #9,107 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
#9,107
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,552 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
66.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kei
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kei is Asian/Pacific Islander at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and White (9.3%). 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 Kei 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 Kei at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander66.6% · 1,033
- Black or African American10.4% · 161
- White9.3% · 145
- Two or more races9.3% · 144
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Kei
Kei is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 823 total registrations, 637 (77.4%) were male and 186 (22.6%) were female.
Kei as a male name
- Ranked #4,624 in 2024
- 22 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (33 births)
Kei as a female name
- Ranked #12,794 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1994 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kei on both sides of the split. Of the 1,557 people counted with this name, 963 were male (61.8%) and 594 were female (38.2%).
Popularity
Kei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kei from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 254 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kei remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kei 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 Kei during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kei
The name Kei has its origins in Japanese culture, tracing back to the Heian period (794-1185 CE). It is derived from the Japanese word "kei," which means "respectful" or "reverent." The name was initially given to individuals who displayed a deep sense of respect and reverence, particularly within the Buddhist tradition.
During the Heian period, the name Kei appeared in several historical records and literary works. One notable example is the "Genji Monogatari," a masterpiece of Japanese literature written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century. In this work, a character named Kei is mentioned, indicating the name's usage during that time.
The earliest recorded individual with the name Kei is Kei no Tsunenori, a prominent Japanese poet and nobleman who lived from 1170 to 1259. He was a member of the influential Fujiwara clan and served as a court official during the Kamakura period. Kei no Tsunenori's poetry was highly regarded, and his works were included in several imperial anthologies.
Another notable figure in history with the name Kei was Kei Tuan, a Chinese philosopher and educator who lived from 497 to 569 CE during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. He is known for his influential work, "The Classic of Family Reverence," which emphasized the importance of filial piety and respect for elders.
In the realm of Buddhist history, Kei Shun, a Japanese Zen monk and calligrapher, left a significant mark. Born in 1428 and living until 1505, Kei Shun was renowned for his mastery of the art of calligraphy and his contributions to the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism.
Kei Nishikori, a Japanese professional tennis player born in 1989, is a contemporary figure who carries the name Kei. He has achieved notable success on the ATP Tour, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world and winning multiple titles.
Lastly, Kei Kumai, a Japanese actor and singer born in 1976, has made a name for himself in the entertainment industry. He is best known for his roles in various television dramas and films, as well as his successful music career spanning several albums and singles.
People
Kei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kei 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
Kei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 794 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kei 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 431,681 US residents.
Is Kei a common name?
We classify Kei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 823 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kei most popular?
The single biggest year for Kei was 2015, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kei is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kei in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,552 people with the name Kei, or 0.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,107 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 Kei 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 Kei?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kei on both sides of the split. Of the 1,557 people counted with this name, 963 were male (61.8%) and 594 were female (38.2%). 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 Kei?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kei is Asian/Pacific Islander at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and White (9.3%). 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 Kei most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kei in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.6% (1,033 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 Kei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kei a male name?
Yes, 77.4% of people registered as Kei 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 Kei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kei 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 Kei 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 Kei?
You can see how many Americans are named Kei on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.