Kansas
Kansas is a landlocked state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north, Colorado to the west, Oklahoma to the south, and Missouri to the east. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, in turn named after the Kansa people.
Meaning & Origin of Kansas
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Kansas is a landlocked state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north, Colorado to the west, Oklahoma to the south, and Missouri to the east. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, in turn named after the Kansa people.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Etymology
Origin & history
The Story of Kansas
As a girl name
Kansas first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1898, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2002: 50 births, good for #2,935 nationwide. About 29% of every Kansas on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Kansas ranks #8,461 for girls with 11 births, falling sharply (-40%). All told, over 1K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1890s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
Kansas first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a boy name in 1993, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1994: 12 births, good for #4,802 nationwide. About 45% of every Kansas on record arrived during the 1990s, its defining decade. Kansas last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 93 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1990s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Kansas
Phonetically similar names — useful when Kansas is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
- Qantas
- Kansa
- Canorous
- Cantus
- Canthus
- Canis
- Kanis
- Kanaris
- Canvas
- Conscious
- Concise
- Canvass
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Kansas
What does the name Kansas mean?
How popular is Kansas in 2026?
When was Kansas most popular?
In which U.S. states is Kansas most popular?
Is Kansas a unisex name?
What names go well with Kansas?
About the name Kansas
Kansas is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1898 and has accumulated 1K births in the dataset. Kansas's peak popularity came in 2002 when it ranked #1,700. Use the chart and map above to compare Kansas's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2002 →
- Names of the 2000s →
- Names starting with "K" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.