Kenneth

Last seen for girls in 2019 at #12,448 · #294 for boys in 2025, 1,148 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#13
1939 · 14,715 births
Debut · boys
1880
32 births
In top 100 · boys
104 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
1,283,974
since 1880

Kenneth over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201972peak #13, 1939boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#2941,148
2024—#2841,190
2023—#2621,321
2022—#2631,312
2021—#2581,373
2020—#2431,483
2019#12,4487#2331,623
2018—#2251,671
2017—#2171,766
2016#16,2155#2081,921
2015—#1982,033
2014—#1912,153
2013—#1872,177
2012—#1752,224
2011—#1702,217
2010#16,9925#1602,428
2009—#1512,612
2008#15,4056#1372,967
2007#17,6365#1353,108
2006#11,4179#1293,243
2005#13,0107#1223,368
2004#6,76817#1193,425
2003#10,4259#1113,643
2002—#1043,665
2001#13,5216#973,907
2000#13,1546#944,152
1999#9,4799#894,285
1998#9,2609#874,586
1997#6,16315#834,659
1996#7,57411#774,973
1995#5,95815#725,226
1994#5,71316#655,679
1993#3,87727#606,276
1992#4,52822#596,732
1991#3,93626#547,576
1990#2,90039#528,262
1989#3,04535#538,555
1988#1,80269#518,567
1987#1,59178#538,354
1986#1,42090#508,453
1985#1,85660#478,992
1984#1,36886#468,790
1983#1,44780#458,965
1982#1,68467#459,354
1981#1,43385#419,472
1980#1,48281#419,608
1979#1,66167#419,236
1978#1,61466#419,021
1977#1,49873#399,452
1976#1,40675#389,127
1975#1,58662#359,634
1974#1,53263#3410,143
1973#1,15195#2810,979
1972#1,30378#2712,334
1971#1,42773#2514,763
1970#1,108106#2516,800
1969#1,066106#2317,553
1968#1,09994#2318,077
1967#1,04697#2219,263
1966#1,011104#2120,834
1965#982111#2122,677
1964#932127#1824,850
1963#1,12694#1825,235
1962#978119#1825,241
1961#1,23280#1626,100
1960#1,12693#1627,701
1959#1,005110#1526,640
1958#1,028103#1426,684
1957#1,17381#1428,064
1956#1,22872#1627,432
1955#1,19770#1526,743
1954#1,27860#1726,186
1953#1,33253#1725,507
1952#1,19563#1625,909
1951#1,19061#1625,841
1950#1,39643#1523,813
1949#1,15462#1523,589
1948#1,15760#1523,550
1947#1,22854#1524,586
1946#1,16554#1522,042
1945#1,15546#1618,096
1944#1,11549#1618,093
1943#1,10353#1519,112
1942#1,00660#1518,210
1941#1,41830#1516,143
1940#97154#1515,132
1939#1,07944#1314,715
1938#99251#1414,399
1937#1,19636#1413,219
1936#1,23034#1412,486
1935#1,08441#1512,067
1934#99348#1511,800
1933#98549#1511,410
1932#91359#1411,742
1931#78474#1411,568
1930#75586#1711,705
1929#74289#1810,841
1928#82177#1711,167
1927#81780#1810,848
1926#87971#1810,342
1925#1,07450#1910,146
1924#1,15146#1910,355
1923#1,03753#219,734
1922#1,19042#219,258
1921#1,37434#228,959
1920#1,28236#237,840
1919#1,39331#266,796
1918#1,12643#276,809
1917#1,40228#276,141
1916#1,33230#276,012
1915#1,47524#285,681
1914#1,38521#304,178
1913#1,52815#333,065
1912#1,71911#332,538
1911—#401,148
1910—#43880
1909#1,9576#41746
1908—#40692
1907—#47589
1906—#45534
1905—#52474
1904#1,6596#57414
1903—#67330
1902—#78275
1901—#78246
1900—#90279
1899—#87214
1898—#100191
1897—#105164
1896—#106175
1895—#131127
1894—#144105
1893—#17283
1892—#157102
1891—#19165
1890—#18672
1889—#19766
1888—#26245
1887—#27235
1886—#27538
1885—#25841
1884—#33128
1883—#32426
1882—#37722
1881—#29629
1880—#29132
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Kenneth was already there! It came in at #291, and was given to 32 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1880–1884, when fewer than 33 boys a year got the name.

Where Kenneth is popular in 1972

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #16 for boys · 38 births · 1 in 71 boysAKMaine: #37 for boys · 58 births · 1 in 126 boysMEVermont: #55 for boys · 14 births · 1 in 213 boysVTNew Hampshire: #36 for boys · 41 births · 1 in 125 boysNHWashington: #32 for boys · 181 births · 1 in 120 boysWAIdaho: #40 for boys · 35 births · 1 in 167 boysIDMontana: #32 for boys · 35 births · 1 in 133 boysMTNorth Dakota: #49 for boys · 26 births · 1 in 178 boysNDMinnesota: #57 for boys · 111 births · 1 in 241 boysMNIllinois: #27 for boys · 673 births · 1 in 123 boysILWisconsin: #34 for boys · 212 births · 1 in 143 boysWIMichigan: #27 for boys · 604 births · 1 in 114 boysMINew York: #32 for boys · 938 births · 1 in 130 boysNYMassachusetts: #34 for boys · 328 births · 1 in 115 boysMARhode Island: #27 for boys · 64 births · 1 in 94 boysRIOregon: #35 for boys · 110 births · 1 in 132 boysORNevada: #20 for boys · 44 births · 1 in 77 boysNVWyoming: #34 for boys · 18 births · 1 in 121 boysWYSouth Dakota: #59 for boys · 20 births · 1 in 222 boysSDIowa: #45 for boys · 100 births · 1 in 192 boysIAIndiana: #32 for boys · 316 births · 1 in 132 boysINOhio: #29 for boys · 676 births · 1 in 120 boysOHPennsylvania: #34 for boys · 611 births · 1 in 130 boysPANew Jersey: #25 for boys · 422 births · 1 in 109 boysNJConnecticut: #29 for boys · 162 births · 1 in 110 boysCTCalifornia: #32 for boys · 941 births · 1 in 160 boysCAUtah: #35 for boys · 87 births · 1 in 139 boysUTColorado: #32 for boys · 135 births · 1 in 134 boysCONebraska: #45 for boys · 60 births · 1 in 180 boysNEMissouri: #30 for boys · 276 births · 1 in 127 boysMOKentucky: #27 for boys · 244 births · 1 in 109 boysKYWest Virginia: #26 for boys · 137 births · 1 in 101 boysWVVirginia: #25 for boys · 325 births · 1 in 103 boysVAMaryland: #25 for boys · 233 births · 1 in 101 boysMDDelaware: #27 for boys · 38 births · 1 in 97 boysDEArizona: #32 for boys · 103 births · 1 in 164 boysAZNew Mexico: #21 for boys · 78 births · 1 in 113 boysNMKansas: #36 for boys · 105 births · 1 in 137 boysKSArkansas: #19 for boys · 155 births · 1 in 97 boysARTennessee: #21 for boys · 303 births · 1 in 106 boysTNNorth Carolina: #22 for boys · 421 births · 1 in 99 boysNCSouth Carolina: #19 for boys · 241 births · 1 in 90 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #27 for boys · 86 births · 1 in 109 boysDCOklahoma: #39 for boys · 128 births · 1 in 148 boysOKLouisiana: #20 for boys · 273 births · 1 in 114 boysLAMississippi: #20 for boys · 189 births · 1 in 105 boysMSAlabama: #16 for boys · 332 births · 1 in 83 boysALGeorgia: #22 for boys · 374 births · 1 in 108 boysGAHawaii: #34 for boys · 41 births · 1 in 147 boysHITexas: #28 for boys · 697 births · 1 in 153 boysTXFlorida: #23 for boys · 495 births · 1 in 102 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Alaska#16 · 1 in 71
  2. Alabama#16 · 1 in 83
  3. South Carolina#19 · 1 in 90
  4. Arkansas#19 · 1 in 97
  5. Nevada#20 · 1 in 77

Best ever in a state: #6 in Utah, 1910.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Alabama#163321 in 83
Alaska#16381 in 71
Arkansas#191551 in 97
South Carolina#192411 in 90
Louisiana#202731 in 114
Mississippi#201891 in 105
Nevada#20441 in 77
New Mexico#21781 in 113
Tennessee#213031 in 106
Georgia#223741 in 108
North Carolina#224211 in 99
Florida#234951 in 102
Maryland#252331 in 101
New Jersey#254221 in 109
Virginia#253251 in 103
West Virginia#261371 in 101
Delaware#27381 in 97
District of Columbia#27861 in 109
Illinois#276731 in 123
Kentucky#272441 in 109
Michigan#276041 in 114
Rhode Island#27641 in 94
Texas#286971 in 153
Connecticut#291621 in 110
Ohio#296761 in 120
Missouri#302761 in 127
Arizona#321031 in 164
California#329411 in 160
Colorado#321351 in 134
Indiana#323161 in 132
Montana#32351 in 133
New York#329381 in 130
Washington#321811 in 120
Hawaii#34411 in 147
Massachusetts#343281 in 115
Pennsylvania#346111 in 130
Wisconsin#342121 in 143
Wyoming#34181 in 121
Oregon#351101 in 132
Utah#35871 in 139
Kansas#361051 in 137
New Hampshire#36411 in 125
Maine#37581 in 126
Oklahoma#391281 in 148
Idaho#40351 in 167
Iowa#451001 in 192
Nebraska#45601 in 180
North Dakota#49261 in 178
Vermont#55141 in 213
Minnesota#571111 in 241
South Dakota#59201 in 222

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Kenneth
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 10 spots since 2024 (#284 → #294)
  • 51 spots since 2020 (#243 → #294)
  • 96 spots since 2015 (#198 → #294)
  • Biggest jump: 73 spots in 1885 (#331 → #258)
  • Biggest drop: 81 spots in 1882 (#296 → #377)
Rise & fade · boys
59 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1939 at #13 (14,715 births)
  • Births halved by 1992, 53 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 104 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 104 yrs · run 1898–2001
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 73
  • Highest: 1 in 73 boys born in 1951 were named Kenneth (1.4%)
  • Latest: 1 in 1,488 boys born in 2025 (0.07%)
  • Its best rank, #13 in 1939, was only 1 in 75 (1.3%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1950s
  • 20.5% of all boys named Kenneth (262,819) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s362#197 (1889)#288
1890s1,298#87 (1899)#138
1900s4,579#40 (1908)#60
1910s43,248#26 (1919)#31
1920s99,490#17 (1928)#20
1930s125,111#13 (1939)#15
1940s198,553#15 (1947)#15
1950s262,819#14 (1957)#16
1960s227,531#16 (1960)#20
1970s111,489#25 (1970)#33
1980s89,110#41 (1980)#47
1990s58,254#52 (1990)#70
2000s34,090#94 (2000)#120
2010s20,213#160 (2010)#196
2020s7,827#243 (2020)#267

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Kenneth in 1972

girls
#1,303
78 births · 1 in 19,503 girls
boys
#27
12,334 births · 1 in 131 boys

Top girls' names in 1972

  1. #1Jennifer63,600
  2. #2Michelle29,285
  3. #3Lisa27,543
  4. #4Kimberly26,282
  5. #5Amy25,873
  6. #6Angela23,561
  7. #7Melissa22,494
  8. #8Stephanie16,890
  9. #9Heather16,320
  10. #10Nicole15,755
  11. #1,303Kenneth78

Top boys' names in 1972

  1. #1Michael71,393
  2. #2Christopher52,172
  3. #3James47,063
  4. #4David46,322
  5. #5John43,158
  6. #6Robert43,013
  7. #7Jason37,423
  8. #8Brian36,306
  9. #9William30,510
  10. #10Matthew22,928
  11. #27Kenneth12,334
More about 1972

girls

1,521,244 girls got a published name in 1972; 1 in 19,503 of them was named Kenneth, which outranked 86.5% of the 9,666 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.6% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Kenneth
  1. #1,289Loren79
  2. #1,289Rosita79
  3. #1,289Starr79
  4. #1,303Kenneth78
  5. #1,303Edward78
  6. #1,303Keya78
  7. #1,303Kindra78
  8. #1,313Caitlin77
  9. #1,313Charlette77
  10. #1,313Clare77

Tied with 9 names at #1,303; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1971
Risers
  1. ↑ 5,804Camisha#6,619 → #815
  2. ↑ 3,921Catina#4,123 → #202
  3. ↑ 1,842Cherilyn#2,665 → #823
  4. ↑ 1,789Chasity#2,542 → #753
  5. ↑ 1,694Keena#2,542 → #848
Fallers
  1. ↓ 517Shayla#836 → #1,353
  2. ↓ 428Raina#798 → #1,226
  3. ↓ 280Kendall#742 → #1,022
  4. ↓ 275Alycia#951 → #1,226
  5. ↓ 255Charisse#727 → #982

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,621,608 boys got a published name in 1972; 1 in 131 of them was named Kenneth, which outranked 99.5% of the 5,751 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 26.5% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Kenneth
  1. #24Paul14,555
  2. #25Chad13,392
  3. #26Gregory13,056
  4. #27Kenneth12,334
  5. #28Shawn11,277
  6. #29Stephen11,037
  7. #30Andrew10,111
Biggest movers since 1971
Risers
  1. ↑ 2,755Demond#3,146 → #391
  2. ↑ 1,286Cade#2,279 → #993
  3. ↑ 905Vidal#1,526 → #621
  4. ↑ 855Damond#1,784 → #929
  5. ↑ 849Kareem#1,254 → #405
Fallers
  1. ↓ 413Rich#914 → #1,327
  2. ↓ 401Monroe#947 → #1,348
  3. ↓ 317Laura#990 → #1,307
  4. ↓ 309Von#976 → #1,285
  5. ↓ 309Westley#998 → #1,307

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1972 →