Keia
Feminine
Keia is a short American girl's name that sounds like Kia or Kiah. It happens to look like a Hawaiian word, and it sounds like a Korean one that became a car company.
How old is the name Keia?
Keia first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Keia alive today was born around 1985, making them about 40 years old. About 600 people named Keia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Keia most popular?
Keia peaked in 1975, reaching #2881 nationally. See the whole 1975 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Keia
Kia, the Korean carmaker, began as a small company making steel tubing and bicycle parts; its name joins two Sino-Korean syllables, ki, 'to rise', and a, for Asia, so it means something like 'rising out of Asia'. Keia was not named for it; it came from the short, vowel-rich names American families liked in its day. It is quick to say and easy to remember.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Keia may be Kia or Kiah respelled. It looks like the Hawaiian kēia, 'this', but nothing connects the name to the word.
Pronouncing Keia
KEE-uh
Two syllables with the stress on the first; some say KAY-uh.
Nicknames for Keia
Limited
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
- 1967
- Most girls named
- 199333 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2881reached in 1975
- Change vs 2010
- 0.0%5 in 2012, from 5
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.
Keias among us
people named Keia 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
Keia 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
- Short and easy to say.
- Rare, so a Keia is unlikely to share her name.
- Close to familiar names.
- People will write Kia or Kiah.
- Some will think of the car.
- The pronunciation varies.
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Keia
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Keias 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 Keia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Keia in 2025?
- Keia is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Keia with classmates?
- Keia 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 Keia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Keia and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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