Holding steady, #13,208 for girls today.
Popularity of Khaia since 1998
Babies named Khaia per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 |
| 2000s | 26 |
| 2010s | 16 |
| 2020s | 54 |
Meaning & origin
Khaia is a modern and uncommon name that first appeared in U.S. records in 1998. It reached its peak popularity in 2021, though it remains very rare, ranking 13,208th in 2025 with approximately 1 in 267,878 newborns receiving the name. The name's trajectory has been relatively stable in recent years. While its exact etymology is uncertain, it likely emerged as a creative respelling of names like Kaya or Kaia, reflecting a broader trend of distinctive and vowel-rich names. Khaia has not been recorded in any top state data, underscoring its niche appeal.
Khaia is a modern name first recorded in the United States in 1998. It may be a creative respelling of Kaya or Kaia, which themselves are variants of Kai (meaning 'sea' in Hawaiian, 'forgiveness' in Japanese, or 'rejoice' in Scandinavian) or a feminine form of the Irish name Cian. However, its precise derivation is unclear and it is best understood as a modern coinage.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Kai
Sibling names for Khaia
Names that share Khaia's style, for a brother or sister.
