Kiyonna
A feminine name of Japanese origin meaning "pure virtue".
Name Census estimates that about 250 living Americans carry the first name Kiyonna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kiyonna today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kiyonna births was 1996 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kiyonna. 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
250
~ 1 in 1,371,017 Americans
Peak year
1996
16 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,509
Tracked since 1981
Census
Kiyonna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 207 people with the first name Kiyonna, which placed it at #37,585 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
#37,585
National first-name rank
People counted
207
207 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kiyonna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kiyonna is Black at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Kiyonna 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 Kiyonna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.0% · 176
- Two or more races6.3% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 9
- White2.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
Popularity
Kiyonna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kiyonna 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 106 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
Kiyonna 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 Kiyonna 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 Kiyonna
The name Kiyonna is a modern invented name that combines two elements from different cultural backgrounds. The first part, "Ki", is derived from the Japanese word for "tree" or "wood", reflecting the natural world and potentially symbolizing strength, growth, or connection to nature. The second part, "yonna", has origins in the Hawaiian language, where it means "beautiful" or "pretty".
This blending of Japanese and Hawaiian roots suggests the name Kiyonna was likely created in more recent times, possibly within the last few decades, as a unique and multicultural combination. It does not appear to have direct historical roots or references in ancient texts or religious scriptures.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Kiyonna are difficult to pinpoint, as it is a relatively modern creation. However, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
One of the earliest known individuals named Kiyonna was Kiyonna Samantha Welch, an American artist and painter born in 1982 in Los Angeles, California. Her vibrant and expressive artworks often explored themes of identity, culture, and self-expression.
Another notable Kiyonna was Kiyonna Amara Ferguson, a South African activist and community organizer born in 1975. She was instrumental in establishing several youth empowerment programs and initiatives aimed at promoting social justice and equality in her local community.
In the field of sports, Kiyonna Anjelique Haynes, born in 1990, was a professional basketball player from the United States who played for various teams in the WNBA and overseas leagues.
Kiyonna Chantal Blackwood, born in 1988, was a Jamaican-Canadian author and poet whose works often explored themes of diaspora, belonging, and the experiences of marginalized communities.
Lastly, Kiyonna Celeste Devereaux, born in 1978, was a French-American fashion designer and entrepreneur known for her sustainable and eco-friendly clothing line that incorporated traditional textile techniques from various cultures.
While the name Kiyonna is a relatively modern invention, its unique blend of cultural influences and meanings has allowed it to gain popularity and recognition, as evidenced by the diverse array of individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
People
Kiyonna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kiyonna 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
Kiyonna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kiyonna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 250 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kiyonna 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 1,371,017 US residents.
Is Kiyonna a common name?
We classify Kiyonna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 256 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kiyonna most popular?
The single biggest year for Kiyonna was 1996, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kiyonna is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kiyonna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 207 people with the name Kiyonna, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,585 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 Kiyonna 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 Kiyonna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kiyonna appears almost entirely female. Of the 207 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kiyonna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kiyonna is Black at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Kiyonna most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kiyonna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.0% (176 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 Kiyonna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kiyonna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kiyonna 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 Kiyonna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kiyonna 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 Kiyonna 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 Kiyonna?
See how many Americans are named Kiyonna on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.