Kijuan
A masculine given name derived from the Arabic Kidhwan meaning "victorious".
Name Census estimates that about 303 living Americans carry the first name Kijuan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kijuan today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kijuan births was 1997 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kijuan. 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
303
~ 1 in 1,131,202 Americans
Peak year
1997
21 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,431
Tracked since 1980
Census
Kijuan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 256 people with the first name Kijuan, which placed it at #32,700 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
#32,700
National first-name rank
People counted
256
256 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kijuan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kijuan is Black at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Kijuan 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 Kijuan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.7% · 222
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 15
- Two or more races3.5% · 9
- White2.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 4
Popularity
Kijuan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kijuan 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 127 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
Kijuan 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 Kijuan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kijuans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kijuan
The name Kijuan has its origins in the Swahili language, spoken primarily in East Africa and parts of the African Great Lakes region. It is believed to have emerged as a name during the late 19th or early 20th century, likely derived from the Swahili word "kijani," which means "green" or "verdant." The name may have been inspired by the lush, fertile landscapes found in parts of the region.
While no definitive historical records exist to pinpoint the name's earliest usage, it is speculated that Kijuan may have first gained popularity among the coastal Swahili communities of present-day Kenya and Tanzania. These communities have a rich cultural heritage influenced by Arabic, Persian, and Indian traditions, which could have contributed to the name's initial adoption and spread.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kijuan was Kijuan Karuri, a Kenyan politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's independence movement in the mid-20th century. Born in 1923, Karuri was a vocal advocate for human rights and fought against colonial oppression in Kenya.
Another notable figure bearing the name Kijuan was Kijuan Mwenda, a Tanzanian writer and poet who gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. His works often explored themes of identity, culture, and the struggles of everyday life in post-colonial Africa. Mwenda's poetry collections, such as "Sauti ya Bahari" (Voice of the Ocean), were widely celebrated and helped establish him as a influential voice in Swahili literature.
In the realm of music, Kijuan Mrisho, a Tanzanian singer and songwriter, gained popularity in the 1990s and 2000s for his contributions to the Taarab genre, a fusion of Arabic, Indian, and African musical styles. Mrisho's rich vocals and poetic lyrics earned him a dedicated following across East Africa.
Kijuan Waruinge was a prominent Kenyan businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of education and healthcare in his country. Born in the 1930s, Waruinge founded several successful enterprises and used his wealth to support various charitable initiatives, including the construction of schools and hospitals in underserved communities.
Another individual of note is Kijuan Mwakisyanga, a Tanzanian sculptor and artist who gained recognition for his intricate woodcarvings and representations of traditional African culture. Mwakisyanga's works were exhibited in various galleries and museums throughout East Africa and abroad, celebrating the region's rich artistic heritage.
While the name Kijuan has its roots in East Africa, it has since gained popularity in other parts of the world due to cultural exchange and migration. However, the name's origins and historical significance remain closely tied to the Swahili-speaking communities of the African Great Lakes region.
People
Kijuan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kijuan 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
Kijuan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kijuan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 303 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kijuan 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 1,131,202 US residents.
Is Kijuan a common name?
We classify Kijuan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kijuan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kijuan was 1997, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kijuan is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kijuan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 256 people with the name Kijuan, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,700 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 Kijuan 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 Kijuan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kijuan leans strongly male. 247 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 5 female bearers (2.0%). 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 Kijuan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kijuan is Black at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Kijuan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kijuan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (222 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 Kijuan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kijuan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kijuan 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 Kijuan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kijuan 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 Kijuan 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 Kijuan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.