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Kaya

#1,133 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Kaya has been given to 10,976 babies in the U.S. since 1968. In 2025 it ranked #1,133 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2004, with 528 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 94% girls, 6% boys all-time.

Babies named Kaya, 2025

1 in 16,100

Kaya over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Kaya over time

In 2025, Kaya went to 93% girls and 7% boys.

19682025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Kaya: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Kaya means

Kaya has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Kaya

One of the source’s documented entries for Kaya records a meaning of rock, cliff.

Origin, language, and formation

Kaya is used in Turkish.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Turkish, Kaya is pronounced /kaˈja/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 10,314 girls were recorded with the name Kaya between 1968 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 528 in 2004; its best national rank was #540 in 2003.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,056 in 2020 to #1,133 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #860 in 2015 to #1,133 in 2025.

In the United States, 662 boys were recorded with the name Kaya between 1975 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 56 in 2001; its best national rank was #1,941 in 2001.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #6,466 in 2020 to #5,998 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #5,873 in 2015 to #5,998 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Kaya?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 16,100
206 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 7,800
0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#1,133
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
11,156 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kaya sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

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 5003%

Put another way: gather 11,156 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kaya. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kayas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kaya was born before 2008 — so the typical Kaya is around 17 today.

Median birth year
2008
About 17 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
43.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
84.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
10,314
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 43.4% of all recorded uses (4,473).

Is Kaya 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
−166
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−77
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−273
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.63×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
39.0%
Peak was 2004 (528)
Years since peak
21
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
10.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#540
2003

Spellings of Kaya

Kaya is not the most common spelling — Sara is, with 9.7% against Kaya's 0.23%.

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 Kaya is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Kaya was most concentrated in Hawaii — about 1 in 730 girls, against 1 in 6,254 across all states with data. It was least common in Wisconsin (1 in 33,333).

3137 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Hawaii1 in 730
  2. 2Illinois1 in 3,125
  3. 3Washington1 in 3,333
  4. 4California1 in 3,704
  5. 5Colorado1 in 3,704
  6. 6Massachusetts1 in 4,167
  7. 7Arizona1 in 4,545
  8. 8Virginia1 in 4,545

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls 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.

Geographically, Kaya is one of the more regionally concentrated names in the country — more concentrated than 99% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Kaya is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Kaya was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 438,762 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Colorado1 in —
  3. 3Florida1 in —
  4. 4New York1 in —
  5. 5Ohio1 in —

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. Kaya has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Kaya around the world

Where Kaya 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
    1996–2025
    #792
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1992–2025
    #539
    in 2025
  • Northern Ireland
    2013–2023
    #391
    in 2023
  • Ireland
    2000–2024
    #504
    in 2024
  • France
    1983–2025
    #1,876
    in 2025
  • Norway
    2022–2024
    #446
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #772
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1982–2011
    #840
    in 2011

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Norway, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, SSB, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Kaya

People whose public names include Kaya, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Kaya in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Kaya. Linked forms have their own page here.

CayaKaiaKajaKaija

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Kaya by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,133
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 77
Best rank ever
#540
2003
Peak year
2004
528 that year
First recorded
1968
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
10,314
Count in 2025
206

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#5,998
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 468
Best rank ever
#1,941
2001
Peak year
2001
56 that year
First recorded
1975
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
662
Count in 2025
15

Names similar to Kaya

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

KayeKayliRayaKaylynKayceeKayleyKayleTayaNayaKaydenKaylenKayceKaylahAlayaKaylinJayaAyaKaylieKaylanKaylaniChayaKaylynnKayleenAnaya

Names with a curve like Kaya

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Kaya, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

ZoieArelyAiyanaMonserratJaylinTaliyahIsabelaAliyaIyannaYulianaZariaSalma

Sibling names for Kaya

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 Kaya

Top names of 2004, Kaya's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 2003Girls' names starting with KShort Turkish Boy Names