Unisex name ★ peaked 2016

Kye

Gender Unisex · 6% girls Rank 2025 #1,369 Trend ↓ Falling 36%

Possibly a modern phonetic rendering of Kai, or a short form of Kyle and Kyler.

Rank 2025
#1,369
among boys · ↓168 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
142
named Kye · -19% vs 2024
How common
1 in 12,559
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2016
369 babies
All-time total
5,904
#1,673 all-time among boys
First recorded
1956
in Social Security records

Kye popularity over time

5,904 babies have been named Kye since 1956, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.050.10.150.218801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – 23 23 2 – #2,887
1960s 5 54 59 6 +157% #2,956
1970s 5 109 114 11 +93% #2,412
1980s 7 242 249 25 +118% #1,852
1990s 66 423 489 49 +96% #1,816
2000s 103 1,083 1,186 119 +143% #1,208
2010s 107 2,255 2,362 236 +99% #693
2020s (to 2025) 54 1,368 1,422 237 0% #815

Where Kye is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 125 0.07 outside top 500
2027 117 0.07 outside top 500
2028 110 0.06 outside top 500
2029 105 0.06 outside top 500
2030 100 0.06 outside top 500

Where Kye is most popular

Boys named Kye per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.126 per 1,000. Strongest in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Kye born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Louisiana 43 0.420 +235%
Oklahoma 32 0.362 +188%
Tennessee 46 0.255 +103%
Missouri 33 0.238 +90%
Kentucky 23 0.229 +83%
Alabama 24 0.220 +75%
Wisconsin 26 0.219 +75%
Arkansas 12 0.190 +51%
Ohio 50 0.189 +50%
Michigan 32 0.156 +24%
Texas 135 0.153 +22%
Indiana 24 0.150 +19%
Illinois 38 0.149 +18%
Georgia 35 0.138 +10%
Florida 62 0.131 ≈ national
Virginia 22 0.116 -8%
North Carolina 28 0.110 -13%
Mississippi 6 0.106 -16%
Pennsylvania 25 0.094 -25%
Iowa 6 0.087 -31%
New York 32 0.074 -41%
California 55 0.060 -52%
Maryland 6 0.050 -60%
Minnesota 5 0.041 -68%
Alaska – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Kye

Kye is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,369 in 2025 with 136 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1956, 5,904 American babies have been named Kye, about 94% boys and 6% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2016, when 369 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Kye stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kye?

The median living Kye is about 10 years old; half are between 6 and 20. An estimated 5,800 people named Kye are alive in the United States today.

median 10 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Kye year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 6 #14,134 136 #1,369
2024 5 #16,584 171 #1,201
2023 10 #10,003 240 #942
2022 11 #9,368 277 #870
2021 8 #11,696 260 #889
2020 14 #7,776 284 #815
2019 8 #11,935 288 #797
2018 8 #12,006 310 #760
2017 22 #5,756 310 #760
2016 13 #8,657 356 #693
2015 10 #10,536 211 #981
2014 19 #6,601 173 #1,105
2013 10 #10,662 148 #1,213
2012 9 #11,807 154 #1,181
2011 8 #12,819 157 #1,151
2010 – – 148 #1,206
2009 7 #14,536 150 #1,208
2008 17 #7,592 122 #1,398
2007 8 #13,345 123 #1,363
2006 14 #8,511 108 #1,442
2005 16 #7,339 127 #1,251
2004 11 #9,605 94 #1,464
2003 12 #8,810 105 #1,322
2002 5 #16,910 109 #1,249
2001 13 #7,990 71 #1,652
2000 – – 74 #1,598
1995 – – 45 #1,902
1990 12 #7,109 34 #2,147
1985 – – 27 #2,104
1980 – – 15 #3,037
1975 – – 10 #3,563
1970 – – 12 #2,806
1965 – – – –
1960 5 #6,845 6 #3,871
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Kye

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Kye Sun-hui North Korean judoka (born 1979) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Kye, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Kye?

The median living Kye is about 10 years old. Half of all living Kyes are between 6 and 20 years old.

How many people named Kye are alive today?

An estimated 5,800 people named Kye are alive in the United States, based on 5,904 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Kye mean?

Possibly a modern phonetic rendering of Kai, or a short form of Kyle and Kyler.

How popular is the name Kye in 2025?

Kye ranked #1,369 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 136 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kye?

5,904 babies have been named Kye in the United States since 1956, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kye most popular?

Kye peaked in 2016, when 369 newborns received the name.

Is Kye a boy or girl name?

Kye is used for both: about 6% of babies named Kye have been girls and 94% boys.

Is the name Kye rising or falling?

Kye has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Kye become more popular?

Kye is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 100 boys named Kye in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Kye?

Well-known people named Kye include Kye Sun-hui (wrestler).

Names like Kye

Names that sound and feel close to Kye: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Kye with similar names → More names starting with K →