Fun Facts About the Name Kami
- More than 8 thousand babies named Kami: U.S. records list 8,977 babies given the name Kami from 1880 through 2025. Even 52 boys received the name Kami - about 1 boy for every 172 girls.
What Does the Name Kami Mean?
In Japanese, kami (神) is a common noun meaning "deity," "god," or "spirit" - the word used for the gods and spirits honored in Shinto. The same sound written with other characters can mean "hair" (髪) or "upper" (上), so the sense depends on which kanji is used. As a name element, kami appears in Japanese surnames, place names, and some given names, but Kami standing alone is not a common Japanese given name.
In Europe and the English-speaking world, Kami is usually a short form of Kamila, the feminine form of the Latin name Camillus. Camillus was a term for a boy or young man who assisted a priest in Roman rituals; the deeper origin of the word is uncertain, and it is sometimes connected with Etruscan. Kami is also used as a shortening of other names beginning with Kam-, such as Kamilla, and as an independent feminine name in English. The Japanese word and the European name are not related to each other, despite the identical spelling.
Kami Name History & Origins
Shinto tradition speaks of the yaoyorozu no kami, usually translated as "eight million kami," a way of describing the countless deities and spirits linked to nature, ancestors, and particular places. The word kami also forms part of compounds such as kamikaze, "divine wind," and it appears in Japanese place names, including the city of Kami in Kōchi Prefecture, the town of Kami in Hyōgo Prefecture, and Kami District in Miyagi Prefecture. The origin of the word itself is not settled; one suggested link is to the Ainu word kamuy, "god" or "spirit," but that connection is disputed.
Kamila, the European name behind many uses of Kami, developed as the feminine form of Camillus in Czech, Slovak, Polish, and neighboring languages. In English, Kami is used mainly as an informal shortening of such names rather than as a formal name in its own right, a pattern shared with other short forms ending in -i. Japanese media and anime have also made the sound kami familiar to English speakers as a general word for a god, but that is a separate development from the given name.
How Popular is the Name Kami?
Kami recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1980. Its best rank was #551 in 1972.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,360 | 46 | 0.0029% |
| 2024 | #3,909 | 38 | 0.0024% |
| 2023 | #3,156 | 52 | 0.0032% |
| 2022 | #3,052 | 54 | 0.0033% |
| 2021 | #2,975 | 56 | 0.0034% |
| 2020 | #2,838 | 58 | 0.0036% |
| 2019 | #3,194 | 50 | 0.0030% |
| 2018 | #3,183 | 51 | 0.0030% |
| 2017 | #3,036 | 54 | 0.0031% |
| 2016 | #3,160 | 52 | 0.0029% |
| 2015 | #2,790 | 63 | 0.0035% |
| 2014 | #2,502 | 72 | 0.0040% |
| 2013 | #2,822 | 61 | 0.0035% |
| 2012 | #2,198 | 86 | 0.0049% |
| 2011 | #2,205 | 86 | 0.0049% |
| 2010 | #1,708 | 123 | 0.0069% |
| 2009 | #1,500 | 153 | 0.0083% |
| 2008 | #1,611 | 141 | 0.0075% |
| 2007 | #1,669 | 133 | 0.0069% |
| 2006 | #1,483 | 149 | 0.0078% |
| 2005 | #1,641 | 122 | 0.0066% |
| 2004 | #1,538 | 130 | 0.0071% |
| 2003 | #1,547 | 125 | 0.0068% |
| 2002 | #1,762 | 103 | 0.0057% |
| 2001 | #1,667 | 109 | 0.0061% |
| 2000 | #1,714 | 103 | 0.0057% |
| 1999 | #1,416 | 124 | 0.0070% |
| 1998 | #1,504 | 113 | 0.0064% |
| 1997 | #1,480 | 111 | 0.0064% |
| 1996 | #1,592 | 98 | 0.0056% |
| 1995 | #1,364 | 121 | 0.0069% |
| 1994 | #1,298 | 131 | 0.0073% |
| 1993 | #1,233 | 141 | 0.0078% |
| 1992 | #1,161 | 152 | 0.0082% |
| 1991 | #1,196 | 145 | 0.0077% |
| 1990 | #1,079 | 164 | 0.0086% |
| 1989 | #1,148 | 144 | 0.0078% |
| 1988 | #951 | 177 | 0.0099% |
| 1987 | #982 | 160 | 0.0092% |
| 1986 | #936 | 170 | 0.0099% |
| 1985 | #854 | 189 | 0.0110% |
| 1984 | #849 | 181 | 0.0107% |
| 1983 | #767 | 208 | 0.0125% |
| 1982 | #759 | 218 | 0.0129% |
| 1981 | #649 | 273 | 0.0164% |
| 1980 | #604 | 307 | 0.0185% |
| 1979 | #607 | 293 | 0.0183% |
| 1978 | #658 | 245 | 0.0160% |
| 1977 | #631 | 266 | 0.0173% |
| 1976 | #605 | 262 | 0.0179% |
| 1975 | #583 | 284 | 0.0195% |
| 1974 | #576 | 276 | 0.0188% |
| 1973 | #600 | 263 | 0.0180% |
| 1972 | #551 | 302 | 0.0199% |
| 1971 | #1,043 | 116 | 0.0070% |
| 1970 | #966 | 131 | 0.0075% |
| 1969 | #748 | 183 | 0.0108% |
| 1968 | #968 | 115 | 0.0070% |
| 1967 | #789 | 159 | 0.0096% |
| 1966 | #1,318 | 68 | 0.0040% |
| 1965 | #1,314 | 69 | 0.0039% |
| 1964 | #1,509 | 57 | 0.0030% |
| 1963 | #1,191 | 84 | 0.0044% |
| 1962 | #1,467 | 58 | 0.0029% |
| 1961 | #2,387 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1960 | #2,222 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 1959 | #2,484 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 1958 | #3,295 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1957 | #5,126 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | #11,516 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #8,033 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #11,294 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #13,241 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #13,099 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #13,282 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #13,394 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2006 | #13,019 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2004 | #12,297 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Kami Shapes Your Personality and Life?
EXTREMES in fortune, health and spirituality. You are very versatile, idealistic and intuitive. You either enjoy great success or suffer abject misery. The solution is service to others. Use your leadership abilities for humanity and not for self-glorification. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Kami's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kami's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.