Kia
Of Hawaiian origin, meaning "highest point".
Name Census estimates that about 7,340 living Americans carry the first name Kia. It is a predominantly female name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Kia today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kia births was 1993 (357 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kia. 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 Kia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kia is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 196 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
7.3K
~ 1 in 46,697 Americans
Peak year
1993
357 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,684
Tracked since 1956
Census
Kia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,946 people with the first name Kia, which placed it at #2,643 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
#2,643
National first-name rank
People counted
8.9K
8,946 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
55.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kia is Black at 55.4%. The next largest groups are White (19.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.2%). 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 Kia 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 Kia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American55.4% · 4,953
- White19.7% · 1,765
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.2% · 1,356
- Two or more races5.1% · 454
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 334
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 84
Gender
Gender distribution for Kia
Kia leans heavily female at 97.5% of total registrations, but 196 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kia as a male name
- Ranked #11,684 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (13 births)
Kia as a female name
- Ranked #12,772 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (344 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kia leans strongly female. 8,264 people counted with this name were female (92.3%), compared with 685 male bearers (7.7%).
Popularity
Kia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kia from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,362 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kia 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 Kia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. Pennsylvania, California, New York recorded the most babies named Kia, while Utah, North Dakota, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 167 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kia
The name Kia has its origins in the Hawaiian language and culture, dating back to the ancient Polynesian civilization. The name is derived from the Hawaiian word "ki'a," which means "watchful" or "observant." In Hawaiian mythology, Kia was also the name of a legendary figure known for her wisdom and foresight.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kia can be found in the ancient Hawaiian chants and oral traditions passed down through generations. These chants often celebrated the virtues of watchfulness and attentiveness, which were highly valued in Hawaiian society. The name Kia was given to individuals who possessed these qualities.
In the 16th century, the Hawaiian explorer and navigator Kia Keawe embarked on voyages across the Pacific Ocean, exploring various islands and expanding the knowledge of the Polynesian people. Her legacy as a skilled navigator and explorer has been celebrated in Hawaiian folklore and contributes to the historical significance of the name.
During the 18th century, Kia Kahikina was a renowned Hawaiian chieftain known for her leadership and diplomacy. She played a crucial role in maintaining peace and unity among the various tribes and villages on the Hawaiian Islands, earning her a place in the annals of Hawaiian history.
In the realm of Hawaiian royalty, Kia Kamakau was a prominent figure in the 19th century. She was a member of the Hawaiian nobility and served as a trusted advisor to King Kamehameha III, offering valuable counsel on matters of state and cultural preservation.
Another notable figure with the name Kia was Kia Opu, a Hawaiian scholar and historian who lived in the late 19th century. She dedicated her life to documenting and preserving the rich cultural traditions, customs, and stories of the Hawaiian people, ensuring their legacy would be passed down to future generations.
These are just a few examples of the historical significance and cultural impact of the name Kia within the Hawaiian tradition. Its origins can be traced back to ancient times, and it has been borne by individuals who have made notable contributions to Hawaiian society, exploration, leadership, and the preservation of cultural heritage.
People
Kia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kia 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
Kia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,340 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kia 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 46,697 US residents.
Is Kia a common name?
We classify Kia 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, 7,797 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kia most popular?
The single biggest year for Kia was 1993, when 357 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kia is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,946 people with the name Kia, or 2.96 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,643 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 Kia 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 Kia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kia leans strongly female. 8,264 people counted with this name were female (92.3%), compared with 685 male bearers (7.7%). 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 Kia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kia is Black at 55.4%. The next largest groups are White (19.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.2%). 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 Kia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.4% (4,953 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 Kia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kia a female name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Kia 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 Kia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kia 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 Kia 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 share the name Kia?
Find out how many people have the name Kia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.