Kiyan
An English masculine name of Persian origin meaning "king" or "mighty".
Name Census estimates that about 1,971 living Americans carry the first name Kiyan. It is a predominantly male name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Kiyan today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kiyan births was 2012 (181 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kiyan. 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 Kiyan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Kiyan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 173,899 Americans
Peak year
2012
181 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,383
Tracked since 1995
Census
Kiyan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,213 people with the first name Kiyan, which placed it at #10,814 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
#10,814
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,213 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
52.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kiyan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kiyan is Black at 52.8%. The next largest groups are White (17.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.4%). 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 Kiyan 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 Kiyan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.8% · 640
- White17.5% · 212
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.4% · 162
- Two or more races9.9% · 120
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Kiyan
Kiyan leans heavily male at 98.6% of total registrations, but 28 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kiyan as a male name
- Ranked #1,383 in 2024
- 135 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (172 births)
Kiyan as a female name
- Ranked #13,869 in 2014
- 7 female births in 2014
- Peak: 2011 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kiyan leans strongly male. 1,135 people counted with this name were male (93.3%), compared with 81 female bearers (6.7%).
Popularity
Kiyan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kiyan 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 1,209 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kiyan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kiyan 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 Kiyan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kiyans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. New York, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kiyan, while Washington, Michigan, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 53 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kiyan
The name Kiyan originates from the Persian language and culture, with its roots tracing back to ancient Persia, now known as Iran. It is derived from the Old Persian word "Kayān," which refers to a mythical dynasty of Persian kings and heroes from the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran.
One of the earliest references to the name Kiyan can be found in the Shahnameh, written by the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. In this epic, Kiyan is mentioned as the name of a legendary Persian king from the Kayānian dynasty, known for his wisdom and bravery.
The name Kiyan gained popularity throughout the Persian-speaking regions and was used by several notable figures in history. One of the earliest recorded examples is Kiyan Fārsī, a 13th-century Persian poet and philosopher born in Shiraz, Iran. His works explored themes of love, mysticism, and spirituality, and he is considered a prominent figure in the Persian literary tradition.
Another notable bearer of the name Kiyan was Kiyan Mirza, a 16th-century Persian prince and military commander who played a significant role in the Safavid dynasty. He was known for his military prowess and served as the governor of several provinces in Persia.
In more recent times, Kiyan Soltankhah, born in 1976, is a renowned Iranian football player who played as a midfielder for various clubs in Iran and Europe, including the Iranian national team. He is considered one of the greatest Iranian footballers of all time and is widely respected for his skill and dedication to the sport.
Kiyan Karimi, born in 1997, is a Canadian actor and musician of Iranian descent. He has appeared in several television shows and films, including the popular series "The Next Step" and "Shadowhunters." His talent and versatility have earned him recognition in the entertainment industry.
Kiyan Najibi, born in 1982, is an Iranian-American entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded the popular ride-sharing company Uber and served as its chief technology officer. His innovative contributions have significantly impacted the transportation industry and shaped the modern sharing economy.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Kiyan, reflecting its deep roots in Persian culture and its enduring presence across various fields, from literature and philosophy to sports, entertainment, and entrepreneurship.
People
Kiyan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kiyan 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
Kiyan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kiyan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,971 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kiyan 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 173,899 US residents.
Is Kiyan a common name?
We classify Kiyan as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,987 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kiyan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kiyan was 2012, when 181 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kiyan is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kiyan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,213 people with the name Kiyan, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,814 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 Kiyan 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 Kiyan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kiyan leans strongly male. 1,135 people counted with this name were male (93.3%), compared with 81 female bearers (6.7%). 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 Kiyan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kiyan is Black at 52.8%. The next largest groups are White (17.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.4%). 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 Kiyan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kiyan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.8% (640 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 Kiyan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kiyan a male name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Kiyan 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 Kiyan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kiyan 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 Kiyan 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 are called Kiyan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.