Keila
A feminine name likely derived from the Scandinavian "Keila", meaning "fiery".
Name Census estimates that about 7,075 living Americans carry the first name Keila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keila today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keila births was 2006 (239 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keila. 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 Keila with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
7.1K
~ 1 in 48,446 Americans
Peak year
2006
239 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,562
Tracked since 1956
Census
Keila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,340 people with the first name Keila, which placed it at #2,786 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
#2,786
National first-name rank
People counted
8.3K
8,340 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
72.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keila is Hispanic at 72.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.8%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Keila 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 Keila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino72.9% · 6,079
- White13.8% · 1,155
- Black or African American8.5% · 710
- Two or more races2.5% · 212
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 161
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 23
Popularity
Keila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keila from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,212 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keila 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 Keila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Keila, while Missouri, Oregon, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 199 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keila
The name Keila has its origins in the Finnish language, where it is a diminutive form of the name Kaisa, which is itself a shortened version of the name Katariina, the Finnish form of the name Catherine. The name Catherine, in turn, derives from the Greek name Aikaterine, which is composed of the elements "katharos" meaning "pure" and "heiros" meaning "sacred."
The earliest recorded use of the name Keila dates back to the 16th century in Finland, where it was a popular name among the Finnish nobility. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Keila Kaarlenpoika, a Finnish noblewoman who lived in the late 16th century and was known for her advocacy of women's education.
In the 17th century, the name Keila was mentioned in several Finnish folk songs and ballads, indicating its widespread use among the Finnish people. One such ballad, titled "Keila's Lament," tells the story of a young woman named Keila who is mourning the loss of her lover in a war.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Keila. One of the most famous was Keila Ekholm (1886-1962), a Finnish artist and illustrator who was known for her vibrant paintings of the Finnish countryside. Another notable Keila was Keila Lemetti (1905-1988), a Finnish politician and activist who fought for the rights of women and workers during the mid-20th century.
In more recent times, the name Keila has gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in Brazil and Portugal, where it is often spelled as "Keila" or "Queila." One of the most well-known bearers of the name is Keila Costa (born 1980), a Brazilian actress and television presenter who has appeared in numerous telenovelas and films.
Another notable individual with the name Keila is Keila Merino (born 1985), a Puerto Rican-American actress and model who has appeared in several television shows and films, including the popular series "Prison Break."
While the name Keila has its roots in Finland, it has transcended its cultural boundaries and has been embraced by people from various backgrounds and cultures, each adding their own unique touch to the name's rich history and meaning.
People
Keila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keila 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
Keila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,075 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keila 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 48,446 US residents.
Is Keila a common name?
We classify Keila as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,288 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keila most popular?
The single biggest year for Keila was 2006, when 239 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keila is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,340 people with the name Keila, or 2.76 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,786 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 Keila 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 Keila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keila appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,338 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Keila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keila is Hispanic at 72.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.8%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Keila most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Keila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (6,079 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 Keila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keila 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 Keila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keila 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 Keila 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 Americans are named Keila?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.