first name
KEN
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 69,582 people named Ken, 74.3% reported their origin as White, 12.3% as Asian or Pacific Islander and 6.5% as Black. 99.3% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Ken peaked in 1960, when 1,780 babies got the name.
At least 33,043 babies have been given the name since 1900. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Ken by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1960s, when it ranked #473. The largest share of babies named Ken, 54%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Ken is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Ken has been most common in Hawaii (3.8×), Washington (2.6×), and Oregon (2.3×), and least common in West Virginia (0.22×).
28,374 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Ken, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Ken ranks #38,337 of 156,621, with 622 people. See Ken as a last name
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🔎 KEN 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 4,341 Americans Rarer than 65.3% of us Peaked in 1960 with 1,780 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/ken/