Fun Facts About the Name Kanarie
- 18 babies named Kanarie: U.S. records list 18 babies given the name Kanarie from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Kanarie Mean?
Kanarie is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for the canary, the small finch kept as a songbird, and as a given name it is taken directly from that word. Its older source is the name of the Canary Islands, the bird's native home. The Romans called the archipelago the Canariae Insulae, and one island Canaria (now Gran Canaria), a name built on Latin canis, "dog." The word passed into Spanish as canario and French as canari, and from those into Dutch and Afrikaans as kanarie. So the literal sense of the name is simply "canary," while its ultimate root means "dog," by way of the island name rather than from any word for the bird.
Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, reported that Canaria was named for the many large dogs found there, a detail he credits to the expedition of King Juba II of Mauretania. Some modern explanations instead tie the name to the monk seals that lived around the islands, which the Romans called "sea dogs" (canes marini). The dogs-versus-seals question is not settled, but the root is Latin canis either way. The later use of "canary" for a yellow color, and for a loud singing voice, grew out of the bird's name and not out of the island word itself.
Kanarie Name History & Origins
The word reached Dutch and Afrikaans through the Canary Islands. Roman writers fixed Canaria as the island name; Spanish and Portuguese sailors later used canario for the little green-and-yellow finch they found there, and French canari carried the word north. Dutch adopted it as kanarie, and the Dutch-speaking settlers of southern Africa brought the same word into Afrikaans. In both languages it names the bird Serinus canaria and nothing else in ordinary speech.
The bird was taken to mainland Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, after the Spanish conquest of the islands, and spread through Italy, the German-speaking lands, and England, where it was bred for song and for color. Its name traveled with it, so that the Dutch and Afrikaans kanarie and the English canary refer to the same finch. As a personal name, Kanarie is uncommon and is used mainly in Dutch- and Afrikaans-speaking settings, where it is a straightforward borrowing of the everyday word for the bird.
How Popular is the Name Kanarie?
Kanarie has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2022. Its best rank was #12,869 in 2022.
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 | #16,071 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2022 | #12,869 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #14,643 | 6 | 0.0004% |
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 Kanarie 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 seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Kanarie's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kanarie's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.