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Keanu

boy name
Origin
Hawaiian
Syllables
3
Peak era
2010s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Keanu and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

the cool breeze (Hawaiian ke + anu, "coolness")

The story

Keanu is Hawaiian, the cool breeze: ke is the definite article, anu is coolness in the classic Hawaiian dictionary. American records pick it up in the 1990s, about 1,600 boys, and Behind the Name notes the name is now associated with the actor Keanu Reeves. It has climbed every decade since: about 2,000 in the 2000s, about 2,100 in the 2010s, and with about 3,000 so far this decade it has already passed its full 2010s total with years still to run. A little of the early wave touched girls too, about 150 in the 1990s, before the name settled almost entirely on boys. Few names carry their translation so lightly: cool by meaning, cool by association, and climbing in both senses.

More names with stories →

How popular is Keanu around the world?

In the United States, 3,026 babies were named Keanu between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 46 boys named Keanu were registered in 2025.

Keanu is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, South Australia, Austria, Canada, England and Wales, Montevideo, Argentina, Chile, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 7,200

In the United States, 3,026 babies were named Keanu between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2010s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Keanu peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

New Zealand

1 in 1,300

In New Zealand, 46 boys named Keanu were registered in 2025.

peak 19952025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

South Australia

1 in 4,600 · 2017

In South Australia, 4 boys were registered as Keanu in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Austria

1 in 7,600

In Austria, 10 boys named Keanu were born in 2025, the 467th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 2024

share of that year’s births on record

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Canada

1 in 11,000

In Canada, 32 boys named Keanu were born in 2024, the 808th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2019

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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England and Wales

1 in 15,000

In England and Wales, 40 boys named Keanu were born in 2025, the 811th most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 2020

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Montevideo City

1 in 25,000 · 2011

In Montevideo, 1 boy named Keanu was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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Argentina

1 in 95,000

In Argentina, 7 newborns were given the name Keanu in 2024.

2012peak 2022

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Chile

1 in 180,000

In Chile, 1 boy was registered as Keanu in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Spain

1 in 880,000

In Spain, 51 residents are named Keanu, ranked 14,308th among men, with a mean age of 11.2 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Brazil

At the 2022 census, 32 people in Brazil were named Keanu, ranked 90,373rd, with a median age of 18.

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Ireland

last on record 2023

Keanu is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Mexico City City

last on record 2011

Keanu is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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Poland

last on record 2024

Keanu is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Scotland

last on record 2022

Keanu is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.

Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Keanu

Most people given the name Keanu in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Keanu

Makai Kai Koa Ikaika Kaimana Ashton

Keep exploring

Hawaiian baby names

The Keanu deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Keanu truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Keanu fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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