Kitana
Feminine
Kitana entered American records in the 1990s from a fighting game, and it sits close to katana, the Japanese sword — the resemblance is almost certainly the point.
How old is the name Kitana?
Kitana first appears in US birth records in 1994 — 31 years ago. The typical Kitana alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 1,700 people named Kitana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kitana most popular?
Kitana peaked in 1996, reaching #1722 nationally. Today it ranks #3577, 1,855 places below that high. See the whole 1996 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kitana
Ours, offered as ours. Kitana belongs to a small and growing class of names with an exact arrival date: a game released in 1993 gave the name to a character, and the American records show it appearing that year and peaking three years later. Almost no name has a paper trail that clean. The Japanese sword it echoes is real and unrelated to Japanese naming, so the resemblance is a designer's choice rather than an inheritance — which is worth saying plainly.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source is documented. The name was coined for a video-game character released in 1993 and appears in American records immediately afterwards. Japanese katana, the curved sword, is a near-neighbor in sound and is not used as a Japanese personal name.
Pronouncing Kitana
kih-TAH-nah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Some families say KIT-uh-nah.
Nicknames for Kitana
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
- 1994
- Most girls named
- 199687 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1722reached in 1996
- Change vs 2024
- −25.0%42 in 2025, from 56
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.
Kitana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Katana in Japanese — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Kitanas among us
people named Kitana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 38,268 born in 2025 was named Kitana
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 Sherrilyn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kitana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sherrilyn climbed just as high around 1947, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sherrilyn's path sketches the road Kitana is walking now.
Kitana 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
Where Kitana is headed
Kitana should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kitana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kitana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Kit and Tana are both complete short forms with their own histories.
- Open vowels make it easy to say in most languages.
- It has a documented moment of arrival, which very few names can claim.
- The game association is specific and strong for one generation.
- The sword resemblance is deliberate and will be assumed to be the meaning.
- Kitana, Katana and Kittana are all in use and none is dominant.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kitana 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 Kitana? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kitana
Feminine · #3577 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kitanas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Kitana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kitana in 2025?
- Kitana ranks #3577 among US girl names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kitana?
- About 1 in every 38,268 US girls born in 2025 was named Kitana — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kitana with classmates?
- Kitana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kitana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Delphine#3577 · Evelyne#3577 · Ellanor#3577 · Gwenevere#3577 · Lian#3577 · Katya#3577 · Kolby#3577 · Cherry#3577
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kitana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kitana 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