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Kenya

Girl name · 3 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Kenya: 3 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 3 births in 2006.

Kenya is a name that draws its primary inspiration from the East African country, a place name that entered the English-speaking world as a given name in the 20th century. The country itself is named after Mount Kenya, whose Kikuyu name, *Kirinyaga*, means "place of light" or "mountain of whiteness," referring to its snow-capped peak. The name gained international recognition through Kenya Moore, the American actress and former Miss USA, and also through the pioneering Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai. While the name has no direct Scottish place connection, it shares its root with the word "Kenya" itself, a name that evokes images of vast savannahs and rich wildlife. A notable variant is the less common spelling, Kenia, which occasionally appears in birth records.