Khi
Of Arabic origin, meaning "brotherhood" or "protecting honor and ethics".
Name Census estimates that about 378 living Americans carry the first name Khi. It is a predominantly male name (92.9% of registrations). The average person named Khi today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Khi births was 2015 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Khi. 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 Khi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
378
~ 1 in 906,758 Americans
Peak year
2015
37 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,641
Tracked since 1999
Census
Khi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 448 people with the first name Khi, which placed it at #22,278 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
#22,278
National first-name rank
People counted
448
448 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Khi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Khi is Black at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (16.1%) and White (10.0%). 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 Khi 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 Khi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.1% · 256
- Asian and Pacific Islander16.1% · 72
- White10.0% · 45
- Two or more races9.2% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Khi
Khi leans heavily male at 92.9% of total registrations, but 27 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Khi as a male name
- Ranked #6,641 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (28 births)
Khi as a female name
- Ranked #15,063 in 2017
- 6 female births in 2017
- Peak: 2015 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Khi on both sides of the split. Of the 449 people counted with this name, 352 were male (78.4%) and 97 were female (21.6%).
Popularity
Khi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Khi 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 213 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Khi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Khi 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 Khi 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 Khi
The given name Khi has its roots deeply embedded in the ancient Khmer language and culture, originating in the region now known as Cambodia, dating back to the 6th century AD. This moniker is believed to have been derived from the Old Khmer word 'khi,' which translates to 'crystal' or 'gemstone,' reflecting the reverence for these precious materials in Khmer society.
Khi finds prominent mention in the inscriptions and historical records of the Khmer Empire, particularly during the reign of the illustrious King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. This monarch, renowned for his architectural prowess, adorned many of his magnificent temples and monuments with intricate carvings depicting individuals bearing the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Khi can be found in the ancient Khmer text, the "Reamker," a profound literary work that chronicles the epic tale of the Ramayana. Within its pages, a revered character named Khi is depicted as a wise and virtuous figure, serving as a source of guidance and inspiration for generations to come.
Throughout the annals of history, several notable individuals have borne the name Khi, leaving an indelible mark on their respective fields. Khi Neth (1908-1975) was a prominent Cambodian poet and writer, whose works celebrated the rich cultural heritage of his homeland. Khi Kosal (1915-1982), on the other hand, was a revered Buddhist monk and scholar, renowned for his profound teachings and contributions to the preservation of Khmer spirituality.
In the realm of arts and culture, Khi Bunheng (1936-2006) stands out as a celebrated Cambodian painter, whose vibrant canvases captured the essence of Khmer life and traditions with exquisite detail. Another notable figure was Khi Seng (1945-2018), a renowned Khmer classical dancer who dedicated his life to perpetuating the ancient art form and passing it on to future generations.
Finally, Khi Sovannara (1958-present) is a contemporary Cambodian artist and sculptor whose works have been exhibited globally, showcasing the enduring legacy of Khmer artistic expression to the world.
People
Khi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Khi 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
Khi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Khi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 378 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Khi 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 906,758 US residents.
Is Khi a common name?
We classify Khi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 381 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Khi most popular?
The single biggest year for Khi was 2015, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Khi is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Khi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 448 people with the name Khi, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,278 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 Khi 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 Khi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Khi on both sides of the split. Of the 449 people counted with this name, 352 were male (78.4%) and 97 were female (21.6%). 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 Khi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Khi is Black at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (16.1%) and White (10.0%). 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 Khi most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Khi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.1% (256 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 Khi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Khi a male name?
Yes, 92.9% of people registered as Khi 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 Khi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Khi 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 Khi 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 have the name Khi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.