Kiele
A feminine name of uncertain origin possibly meaning "diamond" or "precious stone".
Name Census estimates that about 499 living Americans carry the first name Kiele. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kiele today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kiele births was 2005 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kiele. 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.
People living today
499
~ 1 in 686,882 Americans
Peak year
2005
41 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,967
Tracked since 1981
Census
Kiele in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 495 people with the first name Kiele, which placed it at #20,757 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
#20,757
National first-name rank
People counted
495
495 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kiele
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kiele is White at 52.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (19.0%) and Hispanic (13.7%). 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 Kiele 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 Kiele at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.1% · 258
- Two or more races19.0% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino13.7% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 46
- Black or African American5.3% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Kiele: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kiele from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 253 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
Kiele 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 Kiele during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kieles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Kiele, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kiele
The name Kiele has its roots in the Scandinavian languages, originating from Old Norse during the Viking Age around the 8th to 11th centuries. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse word "kiel," which referred to a type of small ship or boat.
In ancient Norse mythology, ships played a crucial role, and names related to seafaring were often given to children. The name Kiele may have been bestowed upon individuals with a connection to the sea, whether as sailors, shipbuilders, or those living in coastal regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kiele dates back to the 9th century, when a Viking chieftain named Kiele Thorvaldsson was mentioned in the Icelandic sagas. These sagas, which were oral histories passed down through generations, provide valuable insights into the lives and customs of the Norse people.
During the Middle Ages, the name Kiele appeared in various historical records across Scandinavia. In the 12th century, a Danish nobleman named Kiele Svendsen was a prominent figure in the court of King Valdemar I. Additionally, in the 13th century, a Norwegian explorer named Kiele Eriksson is said to have embarked on voyages to the Arctic regions.
As time progressed, the name Kiele found its way into other cultures and languages. In the 16th century, a Dutch merchant named Kiele van der Meer was known for his successful trading ventures across Europe. Meanwhile, in the 17th century, a Scottish soldier named Kiele MacLeod fought bravely in the Thirty Years' War.
Other notable individuals with the name Kiele include Kiele Gustavsson, a Swedish artist from the 18th century renowned for his landscape paintings. Kiele Bjornsson, a 19th-century Icelandic poet, was celebrated for his works celebrating the natural beauty of his homeland. In the 20th century, Kiele Andersen, a Norwegian mountaineer, became famous for her daring ascents of some of the world's highest peaks.
While the name Kiele has its origins in the ancient Norse culture, it has since been adopted and adapted by various cultures, each adding their own unique touch to its history and significance.
People
Kiele + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kiele 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
Kiele: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kiele?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 499 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kiele 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 686,882 US residents.
Is Kiele a common name?
We classify Kiele as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 508 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kiele most popular?
The single biggest year for Kiele was 2005, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kiele 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 Kiele in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 495 people with the name Kiele, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,757 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 Kiele 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 Kiele?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kiele leans strongly female. 480 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 15 male bearers (3.0%). 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 Kiele?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kiele is White at 52.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (19.0%) and Hispanic (13.7%). 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 Kiele most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kiele in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.1% (258 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 Kiele in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kiele a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kiele 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 Kiele still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kiele 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 Kiele 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 Kiele?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.