Kemi
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- KEH-mee
- Origin
- Yoruba
- UK rank, 2025
- #4,935 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #11,928 for girls
Kemi is a girls' name of Yoruba origin, meaning “cherished by God”. In 2025 it ranked 4,935th for girls in the UK (4 babies) and 11,928th for girls in the US (7 babies).
What does Kemi mean?
Yoruba: short form of Oluwakemi or Olukemi
“cherished by God”
Usually short for Oluwakemi, 'God pampers me'.
Is Kemi a girl's or a boy's name?
Kemi is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 4 girls in the UK and 7 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kemi in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,935th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 4 about 1 in 70,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 36% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 4 girls in the UK were named Kemi, making it the 4,935th most popular name for girls. Its busiest year was 2015, with 11 girls.
2025 had more girls named Kemi than any year since 2019.
Half of all the girls named Kemi in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2014. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 4,866th in England and Wales.
Kemi in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | #4,935 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,966 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 8 | #3,018 |
| 2018 | 3 | #5,896 |
| 2017 | 3 | #5,998 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 11 | #2,458 |
| 2014 | 7 | #3,321 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 3 | #6,108 |
| 2011 | 4 | #4,980 |
| 2010 | 7 | #3,308 |
| 2009 | 5 | #4,141 |
| 2008 | 5 | #4,065 |
| 2007 | 8 | #2,790 |
| 2006 | 6 | #3,280 |
| 2005 | 5 | #3,543 |
| 2004 | 4 | #3,916 |
| 2003 | 7 | #2,574 |
| 2002 | 3 | #4,284 |
| 2001 | 6 | #2,587 |
| 2000 | 7 | #2,304 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 6 | #2,535 |
| 1997 | 10 | #1,780 |
| 1996 | 5 | #2,815 |
How popular is Kemi in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 11,928th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 7 about 1 in 230,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 7 girls in the US were named Kemi, making it the 11,928th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 11,085th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 17 girls. It first appears in the records in 1961.
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 3 years.
Half of all the girls named Kemi in the US since 1880 were born between 1981 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kemi in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #11,928 |
| 2024 | 10 | #9,551 |
| 2023 | 11 | #8,984 |
| 2022 | 17 | #6,702 |
| 2021 | 6 | #13,459 |
| 2020 | 8 | #11,085 |
| 2019 | 14 | #7,712 |
| 2018 | 5 | #15,677 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 7 | #12,871 |
| 2015 | 10 | #10,143 |
| 2014 | 5 | #16,507 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 6 | #14,816 |
| 2010 | 7 | #13,442 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 10 | #10,814 |
| 2006 | 8 | #12,415 |
| 2005 | 7 | #13,003 |
| 2004 | 6 | #14,172 |
| 2003 | 9 | #10,420 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 7 | #12,049 |
| 2000 | 9 | #9,867 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 11 | #8,011 |
| 1997 | 8 | #9,797 |
| 1996 | 7 | #10,562 |
| 1995 | 7 | #10,509 |
| 1994 | 6 | #11,771 |
| 1993 | 8 | #9,552 |
| 1992 | 13 | #6,645 |
| 1991 | 10 | #7,980 |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 8 | #8,386 |
| 1987 | 7 | #8,773 |
| 1986 | 10 | #6,609 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 8 | #7,396 |
| 1983 | 7 | #8,045 |
| 1982 | 5 | #10,514 |
| 1981 | 6 | #9,108 |
| 1980 | 5 | #10,390 |
| 1979 | 5 | #10,208 |
| 1978 | 16 | #4,242 |
| 1977 | 12 | #5,212 |
| 1976 | 5 | #9,282 |
| 1975 | 7 | #7,171 |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 7 | #6,664 |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,290 |
| 1971 | 8 | #6,004 |
| 1970 | 5 | #7,994 |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 6 | #5,816 |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 6 | #5,859 |
| 1961 | 5 | #6,566 |
Names like Kemi
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kiki, Kiyomi, Suki, Remi, Kyomi, Rumi, Demi, Lumi, Zuri, Oluwanifemi, Tori, Miri
Names related to Kemi
More Yoruba names
Tiaraoluwa, Ayomide, Tobi, Oluwadarasimi, Oluwatamilore, Ireoluwa, Inioluwa, Ifeoluwa, Iremide, Araoluwa, Ayomikun, Morayo, Temiloluwa, Obaloluwa, Oluwatobiloba, Oreoluwa
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, “Kemi: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kemi, updated 20 October 2026.