Kea
Feminine
Kea is three letters that several languages could account for, and the record accounts for none of them. It is also the name of a mountain parrot that behaves less like a bird than like a small, badly behaved primate.
How old is the name Kea?
Kea first appears in US birth records in 1964 — 61 years ago. The typical Kea alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 600 people named Kea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kea most popular?
Kea peaked in 1978, reaching #2859 nationally. See the whole 1978 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kea
The kea is the only alpine parrot in the world, it lives in the mountains of the South Island, and it takes things apart. Windscreen wipers, roof racks, the rubber seals around car windows, boots left outside huts: keas strip them methodically, and experiments have shown they solve multi-stage puzzles, cooperate with each other to pull ropes, and make a call that reliably puts other keas in a playful mood — a bird's version of a laugh, which is otherwise unknown outside mammals. Sheep farmers accused them of attacking stock, and a government bounty kept the shooting going for the better part of a century; the population fell to a few thousand before protection came, and the species is now endangered. Their curiosity is exactly what makes them vulnerable.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The sound exists as a word in Maori and in Hawaiian, and it can equally be a clipping of a longer American name or a build of its own. Nothing in the record indicates which, and the entries around it are American rather than Pacific.
Pronouncing Kea
KEE-uh
Two syllables with the stress at the front. Some families say KAY-uh, and the spelling gives no reason to prefer either.
Nicknames for Kea
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1964
- Most girls named
- 197828 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2859reached in 1978
- Change vs 2019
- 0.0%8 in 2022, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Keas among us
people named Kea are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Kea sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Three letters is about as short and as quick as a name gets.
- There are no silent letters and nothing to misspell.
- It is genuinely rare and belongs to almost nobody now living.
- Kia, Keya and Kaya will all be written for it.
- The first vowel has two readings, so strangers will say it two ways.
- Three letters gives a name very little to hold on to.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kea to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Kea? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kea
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Keas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Kea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kea in 2025?
- Kea is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kea with classmates?
- Kea will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kea? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kea and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle