How common is the name Kenneth?

755,679 people in the United States have the first name Kenneth, about 1 in 400. It ranks #43 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

KENNETH

#43

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
755,679
About
1 in 400
This common or more
19.2%
Who bears it

Of the 755,679 people named Kenneth, 77.5% reported their origin as White, 13.3% as Black and 3.7% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are male (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Kenneth peaked in 1957, when 28,145 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1957
Births that year
28,145
In 2025*
1,148 ▼96%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 1,289,312 babies have been given the name since 1880. 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.

Kenneth by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1930s, when it ranked #25. The largest share of babies named Kenneth, 37.8%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#615362
1890s#3661,298
1900s#1914,591
1910s#7243,451
1920s#37100,068
1930s#25125,633
1940s#26199,075
1950s#27263,535
1960s#27228,556
1970s#53112,247
1980s#8389,841
1990s#12158,443
2000s#22134,155
2010s#36320,230
2020s#5077,827
Before 19010.2%
Greatest Generation 1901–279.7%
Silent Generation 1928–4519.6%
Baby boom 1946–6437.8%
Generation X 1965–8017.1%
Millennials 1981–969.7%
Generation Z 1997–124.2%
2013 and later1.6%

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 Kenneth is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Kenneth has been most common in Wyoming (1.5×), North Dakota (1.4×), and Montana (1.4×), and least common in Arizona (0.53×).

1,278,856 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.

Either side of Kenneth

#41 Eric · 767,096#42 Michelle · 757,098#44 Emily · 755,529#45 Ashley · 752,330

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Kenneth, most common first.

#683 Kennedy · 77,115#2,385 Kennedi · 10,494#3,990 Kennith · 4,876#5,771 Kennth · 2,885#6,220 Keneth · 2,602#10,142 Kenith · 1,330#16,187 Kennet · 701#21,612 Kennetha · 468

Also a last name

As a last name, Kenneth ranks #25,124 of 156,621, with 1,033 people. See Kenneth as a last name

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