Recorded 1954–1996 Girls' name Peak 1979 354 births

Kenita — girls' name

354 babies named Kenita in U.S. Social Security records since 1954, with the highest year being 1979. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1950s221960s261970s1281980s1441990s34

The verdict

354 girls have been named Kenita since 1954, peaking in the 1980s, last recorded in 1996.

354
total births
1954–1996
years on record
1980s
peak decade
41%
born in that decade
1980s
Peak decade

41% of everyone ever named Kenita was born in this single decade.

1979
Single peak year

25 babies were named Kenita in 1979 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Kenita

The Social Security Administration has registered 354 babies named Kenita between 1954 and 1996, spanning 43 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Kenita currently falls outside the top 1,000 girls' names for 1996. The name reached its historical peak in 1979, when 25 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Kenita performed strongest in the 1980s, accumulating 144 births during that ten-year window. Across the 5 decades of recorded activity, Kenita shows a clear decline from its mid-century high.

No etymological entry is currently available for Kenita in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 354 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Kenita at a glance

Last recorded 1996

Total births

354

Since 1954

43 years of records

Peak year

1979

25 births that year

Strongest decade: 1980s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1996

Active since

1954

Recorded for 43 years

Last year on file: 1996

Kenita popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1996–1954

Last recorded 1996
Peak year (1979)
25
Annual births at peak — across 43 years of records
051015202530 19961989198419791974196819581954 6

Kenita by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1980s
Peak decade
1980s
144 births that decade — 41% of Kenita's all-time total
1950s221960s261970s1281980s1441990s34

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Kenita?
354 babies have been named Kenita since 1954. It was last recorded in 1996. The peak year was 1979 with 25 births.
When was Kenita most popular?
Kenita was most popular in the 1980s decade with 144 total births. The single peak year was 1979.
How long has the name Kenita been used?
Kenita has been recorded in Social Security data since 1954, spanning 43 years of data through 1996.
What names are similar to Kenita?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Kendra, Kennedy, Kendall, Kenya, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1954–1996 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.