Fun Facts About the Name Kansas
- More than 1 thousand babies named Kansas: U.S. records list 1,329 babies given the name Kansas from 1880 through 2025. Even 98 boys received the name Kansas - about 1 boy for every 13 girls.
What Does the Name Kansas Mean?
Kansas comes from the name of the Kansa people, a Siouan-speaking Native American tribe also known as the Kaw. In the Kansa language the name is usually written Kką:ze (also given as Kkáⁿze) and is commonly translated as "people of the south wind." The exact literal sense of the original word is not fully settled: the familiar gloss ties it to the south wind, while the individual components of the Kansa term remain uncertain. The name reached European languages through French explorers and traders, who wrote it in forms such as Cansez, Kansa, and Kansas, and English took its spelling from the French.
Kansas Name History & Origins
The Kansa were a Siouan people of the central Great Plains, closely related to the Osage and to other Dhegiha Siouan groups. French explorers and traders met them in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and recorded their name in variants such as Cansez; the French called the river running through their territory the Rivière des Cansez. That river became the Kansas River in English, and the name was then applied to the surrounding region. Kansas was organized as a U.S. territory in 1854 and became a state in 1861, which fixed the modern form of the name.
As a personal given name, Kansas is uncommon and appears mainly in the United States, where place names are sometimes adopted as first names. Its use as a given name rests on the state and river name rather than on a separate naming tradition.
How Popular is the Name Kansas?
Kansas 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 2002. Its best rank was #1,824 in 1898.
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 | #7,305 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2024 | #7,748 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #6,533 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2022 | #7,448 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #4,897 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2020 | #5,089 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 2019 | #5,222 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 2018 | #5,689 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2017 | #6,405 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2016 | #4,476 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2015 | #4,917 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2014 | #5,227 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2013 | #4,698 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2012 | #5,473 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2011 | #5,290 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2010 | #8,078 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2009 | #5,298 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2008 | #4,702 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2007 | #4,253 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 2006 | #3,442 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 2005 | #3,994 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 2004 | #3,712 | 39 | 0.0021% |
| 2003 | #3,690 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 2002 | #2,953 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 2001 | #3,985 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2000 | #4,880 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1999 | #3,538 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 1998 | #4,427 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1997 | #4,290 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1996 | #3,328 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 1995 | #2,996 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 1994 | #3,397 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1993 | #4,313 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1992 | #3,722 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1991 | #4,898 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1990 | #4,768 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1989 | #4,176 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1988 | #3,950 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1987 | #10,467 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #5,587 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1985 | #4,349 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1984 | #8,584 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #4,989 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1982 | #5,702 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1981 | #6,073 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1980 | #4,409 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1979 | #5,226 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1978 | #9,023 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #7,172 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #5,209 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1924 | #3,836 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1920 | #4,185 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1915 | #4,605 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1913 | #3,019 | 6 | 0.0010% |
| 1911 | #2,331 | 6 | 0.0014% |
| 1908 | #2,271 | 5 | 0.0015% |
| 1900 | #2,073 | 5 | 0.0017% |
| 1898 | #1,824 | 5 | 0.0019% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #12,963 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2024 | #11,609 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #8,576 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #11,581 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #9,253 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2019 | #13,129 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #11,438 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #13,340 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #10,793 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #10,470 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #8,708 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #7,557 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #9,591 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #4,959 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #7,209 | 7 | 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 Kansas 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 always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Kansas's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kansas's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.