# Kwame (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/kwame/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Akan |
| Meaning | “born on saturday” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkwɑː.meɪ/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 3,993 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 3,955 / 38 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 361, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

An ancient and traditional Akan day-name meaning "born on Saturday". Popularized in the 1960s when Kwame Nkrumah was the Prime Minister of Ghana.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 9 | 5,768 |
| 1972 | 6 | 7,736 |
| 1976 | 5 | 10,047 |
| 1977 | 5 | 10,419 |
| 1978 | 5 | 10,561 |
| 1990 | 8 | 9,733 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 56 | 2,302 |
| 2012 | 52 | 2,433 |
| 2013 | 48 | 2,552 |
| 2014 | 39 | 2,960 |
| 2015 | 36 | 3,194 |
| 2016 | 51 | 2,499 |
| 2017 | 43 | 2,827 |
| 2018 | 40 | 2,976 |
| 2019 | 49 | 2,646 |
| 2020 | 52 | 2,491 |
| 2021 | 48 | 2,678 |
| 2022 | 51 | 2,637 |
| 2023 | 38 | 3,202 |
| 2024 | 36 | 3,309 |
| 2025 | 42 | 2,962 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 1,600 |
| 2012 | 16 | 1,507 |
| 2013 | 12 | 1,796 |
| 2014 | 11 | 1,935 |
| 2015 | 9 | 2,319 |
| 2016 | 13 | 1,804 |
| 2017 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,412 |
| 2019 | 10 | 2,104 |
| 2020 | 12 | 1,825 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3,990 |
| 2022 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2023 | 5 | 3,523 |
| 2024 | 11 | 2,088 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2,133 |

## People named Kwame

- Kwame Brown, American basketball player (born 1982)
- Kwame Kilpatrick, American politician and football player
- Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, association football player (born 1987)
- Kwame Raoul, American politician
- Kwame Watson-Siriboe, American soccer player
- Kwame Quee, association football player
- Stokely Carmichael, American activist (1941-1998)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.