Where did the baby name Khaza come from?

The Kevin Gates song "Khaza" (2015)
Kevin Gates song

Baton Rogue-based rapper Kevin Gates and his wife Dreka have two children, daughter Islah (pronounced ees-lah) and son Khaza. Both names have been featured in Kevin’s music recently. As a result, both names have also seen a relatively steep rise in usage recently.

In May of 2015, Gates released the song “Khaza” [vid]. The same year, the baby name Khaza was the 2nd-highest-rising boy name of 2015 (after Rhydian). Usage was largely in the South.

  • 2017: 72 baby boys (and 10 baby girls) named Khaza
    • 13 in LA, 9 in GA, 7 in TX, 6 in TN, 5 in AL (56%)
  • 2016: 77 baby boys (and 6 baby girls) named Khaza
    • 18 in TX, 11 in LA, 7 in AL, 6 in GA, 6 in FL, 6 in NC, 5 in TN (77%)
  • 2015: 34 baby boys named Khaza
    • 8 in TX, 6 in LA (41%)
  • 2014: 6 baby boys named Khaza [debut]
  • 2013: unlisted

I’m not certain where the name comes from, but my wild guess is that it’s based on the Quranic word khaza’in, which means “treasures” in Arabic. (Gates is a practicing Muslim.)

The Kevin Gates album "Islah" (2016)
Kevin Gates album

In January of 2016, after releasing various mixtapes and singles, Gates finally put out his first studio album, Islah. Spin called it “the most-balanced Kevin Gates project to date.” The same year, the baby name Islah was the 2nd-highest-rising girl name of 2016 (after Kehlani).

  • 2017: 58 baby girls named Islah
    • 9 in FL, 8 in TX
  • 2016: 48 baby girls (and 5 baby boys) named Islah
    • 8 in CA, 8 in TX
  • 2015: 8 baby girls named Islah
  • 2014: unlisted
  • 2013: unlisted

In this case I can tell you precisely where the name came from, because Gates talked about it in several interviews. Here’s how he defined the album title for HotNewHipHop in late 2015:

“To reform, to improve, to make better. And I believe that’s what my first daughter did to me, so I named my first album after my first daughter. Because it improved me, it made me better.”

And that’s exactly what the Arabic word islah means: “to improve, to better, to put something into a better position.”

Which baby name do you like more, Khaza or Islah? Would you use either one?

Sources:

2 thoughts on “Where did the baby name Khaza come from?

  1. Islah reminds me of the name Isa, short for the Spanish pronunciation of Isabella. I can see Islah catching on, although I prefer Isa. (Pronounced like Lisa without the L. ) Islah sounds pretty, a complete name (not a shortening of a longer name), and unusual and exotic. Islah also reminds me of Isla which is becoming more popular.

  2. I could see it catching on, too. But, if so, I bet it would annoy anyone associated with the name Isla, because it would just add to all the pronunciation confusion.

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