Kamau
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- ka-MOW
- US rank, 2025
- #7,675 for boys
Kamau is a boys' name. In 2025 it ranked 7,675th for boys in the US (10 babies).
What does Kamau mean?
Kikuyu name from Kenya
A common name among the Kikuyu of Kenya; Jomo Kenyatta, the country's first president, was born Kamau wa Ngengi.
Is Kamau a girl's or a boy's name?
Kamau is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 10 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kamau in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2005, with 5 boys.
Kamau in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 3 | #4,995 |
| 2016 | 3 | #5,015 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 4 | #3,986 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 5 | #2,885 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 4 | #2,612 |
| 1999 | 4 | #2,513 |
| 1998 | 3 | #3,021 |
How popular is Kamau in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #7,675among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 10about 1 in 170,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 10 boys in the US were named Kamau, making it the 7,675th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 10,599th. Its busiest year was 1995, with 34 boys. It first appears in the records in 1971.
Half of all the boys named Kamau in the US since 1880 were born between 1981 and 2006, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kamau in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #7,675 |
| 2024 | 11 | #7,252 |
| 2023 | 10 | #7,733 |
| 2022 | 18 | #5,211 |
| 2021 | 15 | #5,771 |
| 2020 | 6 | #10,599 |
| 2019 | 16 | #5,551 |
| 2018 | 12 | #6,699 |
| 2017 | 15 | #5,784 |
| 2016 | 5 | #12,180 |
| 2015 | 13 | #6,320 |
| 2014 | 12 | #6,627 |
| 2013 | 15 | #5,655 |
| 2012 | 6 | #10,763 |
| 2011 | 9 | #8,072 |
| 2010 | 9 | #8,133 |
| 2009 | 10 | #7,687 |
| 2008 | 11 | #7,182 |
| 2007 | 18 | #4,994 |
| 2006 | 16 | #5,299 |
| 2005 | 14 | #5,572 |
| 2004 | 19 | #4,416 |
| 2003 | 21 | #3,971 |
| 2002 | 21 | #3,904 |
| 2001 | 21 | #3,837 |
| 2000 | 29 | #2,987 |
| 1999 | 22 | #3,475 |
| 1998 | 34 | #2,504 |
| 1997 | 20 | #3,450 |
| 1996 | 27 | #2,742 |
| 1995 | 34 | #2,294 |
| 1994 | 29 | #2,551 |
| 1993 | 22 | #3,036 |
| 1992 | 28 | #2,527 |
| 1991 | 15 | #3,806 |
| 1990 | 15 | #3,773 |
| 1989 | 11 | #4,521 |
| 1988 | 10 | #4,445 |
| 1987 | 6 | #6,083 |
| 1986 | 10 | #4,126 |
| 1985 | 12 | #3,596 |
| 1984 | 7 | #4,969 |
| 1983 | 16 | #2,786 |
| 1982 | 9 | #4,232 |
| 1981 | 21 | #2,337 |
| 1980 | 16 | #2,830 |
| 1979 | 15 | #2,896 |
| 1978 | 28 | #1,834 |
| 1977 | 29 | #1,780 |
| 1976 | 21 | #2,176 |
| 1975 | 26 | #1,834 |
| 1974 | 26 | #1,790 |
| 1973 | 27 | #1,696 |
| 1972 | 25 | #1,771 |
| 1971 | 8 | #3,656 |
Names like Kamau
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kai Koa Keanu Yusuf Dylan Kane Khalid Adam Muhammad Beau Liam Makai
Names related to Kamau
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Kamau: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kamau, updated 20 October 2026.