Kemari
Feminine
Kemari is given to both — 537 girls and 1,585 boys since 1880. See Kemari as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Kemari joins a Ke- prefix to a -mari ending, and both pieces are American. Ke- became productive in the 1990s alongside Ke'shawn, Kenya and Kevonte; -mari arrives from Amari and Kamari, which were themselves built rather than inherited. The name is a second-generation coinage in the strict sense.
How old is the name Kemari?
Kemari first appears in US birth records in 1991 — 34 years ago. The typical Kemari alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 500 people named Kemari are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kemari most popular?
Kemari peaked in 2009, reaching #4370 nationally. Today it ranks #7133, 2,763 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Amari to Kemari
Our story of Kemari
A useful way to date a modern coinage is to ask what its parts were before they were parts. Ke- was a prefix by about 1990, abstracted from a generation of names that had used it as a syllable. Amari appeared as a full name in the 1990s, rose steeply, and by the 2000s had itself been broken up: Kamari, Jamari, Damari, Kemari all take its back end and put a new consonant in front. So Kemari is built from a prefix that was abstracted from names, and an ending that was abstracted from a name that was itself built. That is two full generations of recycling in about fifteen years, and it is why names of this shape feel simultaneously very familiar and completely new — every piece has been heard before, in a different arrangement. Kemari peaks in 2009.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Neither element carries meaning. Ke- is a prefix syllable. Amari is sometimes glossed through Arabic ʿamir, prosperous, or through Yoruba, but neither is established for the American name, and Kemari is a further step removed. Japanese kemari is a real word for a historical ball game, which the spelling matches by pure coincidence. No reading can be given.
How the name formed
- Amari
- Kamari
- Kemari
Pronouncing Kemari
kuh-MAR-ee
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. The first vowel is reduced to almost nothing. Kemari, Kamari and Kimari are close to identical in fast speech.
Nicknames for Kemari
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
- 1991
- Most girls named
- 200934 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4370reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- +66.7%15 in 2025, from 9
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.
Kemari in other languages
Kemaris among us
people named Kemari are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 107,151 born in 2025 was named Kemari
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Aparna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kemari's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Aparna climbed just as high around 1975, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Aparna's path sketches the road Kemari is walking now.
Kemari sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Kemari beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kemari in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Mari is available as a complete short form used in several languages.
- The rhythm matches Amari and Kamari, so it needs no teaching.
- It works for both sexes, which some families want.
- It has no meaning at any remove.
- Kemari, Kamari, Kimari and Jamari will all be confused.
- The construction dates it to the 2000s.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kemari 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 Kemari? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kemari
Feminine · #7133 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kemaris are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Kemari are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kemari in 2025?
- Kemari ranks #7133 among US girl names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kemari?
- About 1 in every 107,151 US girls born in 2025 was named Kemari — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kemari with classmates?
- Kemari will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kemari
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Pennie#7133 · Zina#7133 · Elzie#7133 · Rosabel#7133 · Adelene#7133 · Cruz#7133 · Kansas#7133 · Ione#7133
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kemari? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kemari 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