Fun Facts About the Name Kwaku
- 495 babies named Kwaku: U.S. records list 495 babies given the name Kwaku from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Kwaku Mean?
Kwaku is an Akan day name meaning "born on Wednesday." It comes from the Akan language, specifically its Twi form, spoken in Ghana and in Akan communities of neighboring Côte d'Ivoire. In the Akan day-name system, a child's name is fixed by the day of the week of birth, so the name records the day rather than describing a quality. Wednesday is called Wukuada in Twi, and Kwaku - also spelled Kweku - is the name given to a boy born on that day. The matching name for a girl born on Wednesday is Akua or Akosua. Because the content of the name is the day itself, a rendering such as "born on Wednesday" states the naming rule literally rather than adding a separate symbolic meaning.
Kwaku Name History & Origins
The Akan day-name custom is an old practice among the Akan peoples of present-day Ghana: a personal name is taken from the day of birth, so the same set of seven male names and seven female names recurs in each generation. Kwaku is one of the seven male names, alongside Kwasi (Sunday), Kwadwo (Monday), Kwabena (Tuesday), Yaw (Thursday), Kofi (Friday), and Kwame (Saturday). Dialectal and regional spellings differ, and forms such as Kweku are common.
Through the transatlantic slave trade, Akan speakers from the Gold Coast were carried to the Caribbean and the Americas, and the day names traveled with them. Colonial records wrote the names in altered spellings; in Jamaica, forms such as Quaco (from Kwaku), Cudjoe (from Kwadwo), and Cuffee (from Kofi) appear among people the English called Coromantee, their term for Akan captives. Those spellings reflect European scribes writing down Akan sounds, and some survive in Caribbean surnames and place names.
In Akan storytelling the name is attached to the trickster spider usually known as Kwaku Ananse, the central figure of the Anansi tales that also spread to the Caribbean. That is a traditional use of Kwaku as a character's name, not the source of the name itself, which comes from the day-name system.
How Popular is the Name Kwaku?
Kwaku 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 1995. Its best rank was #3,538 in 1971.
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 | #7,026 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2024 | #9,462 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #8,020 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #9,476 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #6,924 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #7,289 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #7,963 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #9,284 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #6,957 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #11,512 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #7,335 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #6,469 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2012 | #8,571 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #7,835 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #9,295 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #5,975 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2008 | #7,009 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #6,470 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #7,768 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #6,456 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2004 | #6,364 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #6,089 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #4,414 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #5,298 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2000 | #5,203 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1999 | #4,914 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #6,111 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #5,905 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1996 | #5,057 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #3,637 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1994 | #6,727 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #4,596 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1992 | #5,922 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #5,763 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #6,166 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #5,021 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #6,895 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #6,582 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #4,012 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #5,301 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #6,924 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #4,354 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1980 | #4,750 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #3,873 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1974 | #4,420 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #4,315 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #5,404 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #3,538 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #5,119 | 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 Kwaku 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.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Kwaku's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kwaku's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.