Name Awesome

Kanye

#12,960 in 2025Boys' name

Meaning uncertain in the cited reference

Kanye has been given to 1,428 babies in the U.S. since 2002. In 2025 it ranked #12,960 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2004, with 509 recorded.

Babies named Kanye, 2025

1 in 663,000

Kanye over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Kanye: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning uncertain in the cited reference

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Kanye means

Kanye is a given name.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Kanye is used in African American (Modern).

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɑn.jeɪ/ for Kanye.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Evidently from Igbo Kanye, although inspiration from other African languages may have contributed. The verb is a reference to Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Kanye (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Kanye is used in English.

Kanye comes through Igbo Kanye.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Kanye is pronounced /ˈkɑnjeɪ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,404 boys were recorded with the name Kanye between 2002 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 509 in 2004; its best national rank was #486 in 2004.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #13,070 in 2020 to #12,960 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,934 in 2015 to #12,960 in 2025.

In the United States, 24 girls were recorded with the name Kanye between 2004 and 2005. Its highest annual count was 19 in 2004; its best national rank was #6,352 in 2004.

How common is Kanye?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 663,000
5 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 342,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#12,960
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
459,581 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kanye sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,581 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kanye. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kanyes were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kanye was born before 2005 — so the typical Kanye is around 20 today.

Median birth year
2005
About 20 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
78.5% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
100.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,404
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 78.5% of all recorded uses (1,102).

Is Kanye rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−6,634
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+110
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−9,026
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.19×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
0.98%
Peak was 2004 (509)
Years since peak
21
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
34.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#486
2004

Kanye’s breakout year

Among the small set of names that had a single, unmistakable year — a surge well above the years on either side of it.

In 2004, 509 boys were named Kanye — about #486 that year — roughly 6.8× as many as in the surrounding years, before it settled back. What the data can’t say is why; the story behind the year is one you’ll likely recognise. Other one-hit wonders

Spellings of Kanye

Kanye is not the most common spelling — Lance is, with 24.4% against Kanye's 0.32%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Kanye is used

Across 1910–2025, Kanye was most concentrated in Delaware — about 1 in 50,000 boys, against 1 in 175,779 across all states with data. It was least common in Wisconsin (1 in —).

02 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Delaware1 in 50,000
  2. 2South Carolina1 in 50,000
  3. 3Connecticut1 in 100,000
  4. 4Florida1 in 100,000
  5. 5Georgia1 in 100,000
  6. 6Illinois1 in 100,000
  7. 7Louisiana1 in 100,000
  8. 8Maryland1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Kanye has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Kanye around the world

Where Kanye ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2004–2021
    #4,789
    in 2021
  • France
    2005–2019
    #6,231
    in 2019
  • Canada
    2006–2008
    #2,338
    in 2008
  • South Australia
    2011–2011
    #784
    in 2011

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Kanye by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#12,960
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 110
Best rank ever
#486
2004
Peak year
2004
509 that year
First recorded
2002
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,404
Count in 2025
5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#6,352
2004
Peak year
2004
19 that year
First recorded
2004
Last recorded
2005
All-time count
24
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Kanye

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

KanonKananKanoaKanyonKanenKanaanKanaiKaniKanavKannanKannonKannenKaninKanoKaneKansasKanishkKanekiKanaloaKandenKandonKaneloDonyeKaniel

Sibling names for Kanye

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Kanye

Top names of 2004, Kanye's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 2004Boys' names starting with K