Kenyatta
- Gender
- Mostly boys
- Say it
- ken-YAH-ta
Kenyatta is a name. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Kenyatta mean?
From the surname adopted by Jomo Kenyatta
Honours Jomo Kenyatta, who led Kenya to independence and became its first president in 1964.
Is Kenyatta a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Kenyatta has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys.
How popular is Kenyatta in the US?
No boys in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1975, with 226 boys. It first appears in the records in 1961.
Half of all the boys named Kenyatta in the US since 1880 were born between 1975 and 1997, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2012, 34% of the babies named Kenyatta in the US were girls.
Kenyatta in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 9 | #8,307 |
| 2023 | 9 | #8,250 |
| 2022 | 12 | #6,822 |
| 2021 | 14 | #6,027 |
| 2020 | 8 | #8,734 |
| 2019 | 14 | #6,099 |
| 2018 | 16 | #5,536 |
| 2017 | 17 | #5,293 |
| 2016 | 13 | #6,344 |
| 2015 | 10 | #7,486 |
| 2014 | 17 | #5,248 |
| 2013 | 17 | #5,167 |
| 2012 | 25 | #4,000 |
| 2011 | 29 | #3,604 |
| 2010 | 21 | #4,516 |
| 2009 | 21 | #4,580 |
| 2008 | 42 | #2,827 |
| 2007 | 29 | #3,589 |
| 2006 | 26 | #3,780 |
| 2005 | 23 | #3,937 |
| 2004 | 46 | #2,415 |
| 2003 | 35 | #2,776 |
| 2002 | 51 | #2,088 |
| 2001 | 50 | #2,082 |
| 2000 | 69 | #1,662 |
| 1999 | 63 | #1,668 |
| 1998 | 59 | #1,716 |
| 1997 | 66 | #1,547 |
| 1996 | 70 | #1,452 |
| 1995 | 57 | #1,598 |
| 1994 | 67 | #1,430 |
| 1993 | 62 | #1,488 |
| 1992 | 48 | #1,745 |
| 1991 | 48 | #1,693 |
| 1990 | 41 | #1,865 |
| 1989 | 37 | #1,948 |
| 1988 | 34 | #1,904 |
| 1987 | 31 | #1,970 |
| 1986 | 26 | #2,159 |
| 1985 | 33 | #1,793 |
| 1984 | 28 | #1,932 |
| 1983 | 37 | #1,593 |
| 1982 | 44 | #1,440 |
| 1981 | 61 | #1,177 |
| 1980 | 104 | #871 |
| 1979 | 118 | #798 |
| 1978 | 158 | #666 |
| 1977 | 160 | #668 |
| 1976 | 182 | #603 |
| 1975 | 226 | #533 |
| 1974 | 148 | #665 |
| 1973 | 142 | #671 |
| 1972 | 111 | #752 |
| 1971 | 105 | #786 |
| 1970 | 80 | #898 |
| 1969 | 39 | #1,265 |
| 1968 | 21 | #1,730 |
| 1967 | 23 | #1,608 |
| 1966 | 17 | #1,890 |
| 1965 | 11 | #2,474 |
| 1964 | 14 | #2,204 |
| 1963 | 16 | #2,043 |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 6 | #3,650 |
Names related to Kenyatta
Sources
Figures from 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, “Kenyatta: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kenyatta, updated 20 October 2026.