Keyan
An Arabic name meaning "living one" or "essence of life".
Name Census estimates that about 1,336 living Americans carry the first name Keyan. It is a predominantly male name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Keyan today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keyan births was 2007 (63 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keyan. 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 Keyan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 256,553 Americans
Peak year
2007
63 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,639
Tracked since 1972
Census
Keyan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,163 people with the first name Keyan, which placed it at #11,166 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
#11,166
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,163 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keyan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keyan is White at 46.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Two or More Races (12.5%). 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 Keyan 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 Keyan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.2% · 537
- Black or African American21.6% · 251
- Two or more races12.5% · 145
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.4% · 133
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Keyan
Out of the 1,356 babies given the name Keyan since 1880, 99.5% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Keyan as a male name
- Ranked #3,639 in 2024
- 31 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (63 births)
Keyan as a female name
- Ranked #7,679 in 1976
- 7 female births in 1976
- Peak: 1976 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keyan leans strongly male. 1,087 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 81 female bearers (6.9%).
Popularity
Keyan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keyan 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 435 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Keyan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keyan 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 Keyan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keyans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Keyan, while Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keyan
The name Keyan is believed to have its origins in the Persian language, derived from the Old Persian word "kayān," which referred to a noble and powerful dynasty that ruled ancient Persia from the 6th to the 4th century BCE. The Kayanian dynasty was renowned for its military prowess and cultural achievements, and the name Keyan was associated with strength, courage, and leadership.
While the exact etymology of the name is uncertain, some scholars suggest that it may be related to the Persian word "kay," meaning king or ruler. This connection could indicate that the name Keyan was initially bestowed upon individuals of royal or noble lineage within the Kayanian dynasty.
Historical references to the name Keyan can be found in ancient Persian literature, such as the epic poem "Shahnameh" (Book of Kings) by the famous poet Ferdowsi. In this literary masterpiece, Keyan is depicted as a legendary figure, a valiant warrior, and a wise ruler who played a significant role in the mythology and folklore of ancient Persia.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Keyan dates back to the reign of the Achaemenid Empire in ancient Persia, around the 6th century BCE. During this period, Keyan was a common name among members of the nobility and upper classes, reflecting the cultural and historical significance of the Kayanian dynasty.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Keyan, contributing to its enduring legacy:
1. Keyan Ardeshir (570 CE - 628 CE), a prominent Persian scholar and philosopher known for his work on ethics and moral philosophy.
2. Keyan Ferdowsi (940 CE - 1020 CE), a celebrated Persian poet and the author of the epic "Shahnameh," which is considered a literary masterpiece in Persian literature.
3. Keyan Rumi (1207 CE - 1273 CE), a renowned Persian poet, jurist, and Sufi mystic, whose works have profoundly influenced Islamic spirituality and literature.
4. Keyan Khajeh Nizam al-Mulk (1018 CE - 1092 CE), a renowned Persian vizier and scholar who served as the prime minister of the Seljuk Empire and played a crucial role in the administration and cultural development of the region.
5. Keyan Mazdak (470 CE - 528 CE), a Persian philosopher and religious reformer who advocated for a classless society and the abolition of private property, challenging the existing social and economic structures of his time.
These individuals, spanning various eras and fields, have contributed to the rich cultural heritage and intellectual traditions of Persia, solidifying the name Keyan as a symbol of wisdom, leadership, and artistic expression within the Persian cultural sphere.
People
Keyan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keyan 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
Keyan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keyan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,336 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keyan 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 256,553 US residents.
Is Keyan a common name?
We classify Keyan as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,356 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keyan most popular?
The single biggest year for Keyan was 2007, when 63 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keyan is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keyan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,163 people with the name Keyan, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,166 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 Keyan 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 Keyan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keyan leans strongly male. 1,087 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 81 female bearers (6.9%). 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 Keyan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keyan is White at 46.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Two or More Races (12.5%). 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 Keyan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Keyan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.2% (537 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 Keyan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keyan a male name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Keyan 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 Keyan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keyan 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 Keyan 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 Keyan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.