Keola
Masculine · “Hawaiian ke ola”
Keola is given to both — 581 boys and 31 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Hawaiian has eight consonants and five vowels, one of the smallest sound systems in the world. That is why Christmas comes out as Kalikimaka: every English sound has to be replaced by one of the thirteen available.
How old is the name Keola?
Keola first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Keola alive today was born around 1995, making them about 30 years old. About 600 people named Keola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Keola most popular?
Keola peaked in 1981, reaching #1996 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 8,699 places below that high. See the whole 1981 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ke ola to Keola
The story of Keola
The Hawaiian inventory is h, k, l, m, n, p, w and the glottal stop, plus five vowels that can be long or short. Every borrowed word must be rebuilt inside it: no consonant clusters, no consonant at the end of a syllable, and no sounds outside the set. So Christmas becomes Kalikimaka, Merry becomes Mele, Britain becomes Pelekane and John becomes Keoni. English speakers often read the results as playful, and they are nothing of the kind: they are the automatic output of a strict phonology, exactly as English does to foreign words in the other direction. Ola, life, is one of the most productive elements in Hawaiian naming, appearing in Keola, Olamau and many compounds, and it carries senses of health and recovery as well as life itself.
Meaning
Hawaiian ke ola, the life
From Hawaiian ke, the definite article, and ola, life or health, so the life. The name is used for both sexes. The American peak is 1981.
How the name formed
- ke ola
- Keola
Related forms: Keola
Pronouncing Keola
keh-OH-lah
Three syllables, stress on the second. Every vowel is sounded separately; Hawaiian has no silent letters.
Nicknames for Keola
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
- 1973
- Most boys named
- 198127 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1996reached in 1981
- Change vs 2024
- −50.0%6 in 2025, from 12
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.
Keola in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Keola in Hawaiian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Hawaii.
Keolas among us
people named Keola are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Keola
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 Real test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Keola's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Real climbed just as high around 1941, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Real's path sketches the road Keola is walking now.
Keola 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
Keola beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Keola in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is exact and the language is living.
- Five letters, three syllables, every one pronounced.
- It works for either sex.
- Mainland Americans compress the vowels.
- It carries a specific Hawaiian identification.
- The 1981 peak dates its American use.
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What they receive
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Keola
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Keolas 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 Keola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Keola in 2025?
- Keola ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Keola?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Keola — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Keola with classmates?
- Keola will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Keola
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Allison#10695 · Candido#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Keola? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Keola and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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