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Kijana
How to Pronounce Kijana
Pronounced kee-JAH-nuh /kiหหdสษห.nษ/High
Meaning: Kijana is a Swahili word meaning 'youth' or 'a young person'. In Swahili it is not gender-specific, and it appears as a first name for both girls and boys; in the United States it was chosen mainly as a girl's name, part of the movement to give African-heritage names.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. ยท SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880โpresent). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Kijana comes straight from Swahili, where it means 'youth' or 'young person'. American families drew on names like it during the flowering of African-heritage naming from the nineteen-seventies onward, valuing its clear meaning and roots.
It stayed very rare in the United States, cresting in the mid-nineteen-nineties. Because the word is not gendered in Swahili, it turns up for boys as well, though here it is a girl's name.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Kijana mean?
Kijana is a Swahili word meaning 'youth' or 'young person', used as a given name.
How do you pronounce Kijana?
It's said kee-JAH-nuh /kiหหdสษห.nษ/ โ three syllables, stress on the third.
Is Kijana a boy or girl name?
Kijana is used here as a girl's name; in Swahili the word is unisex and is used for boys too.
How popular is Kijana?
Kijana is very rare in the U.S., seen most in the mid-nineteen-nineties.