US rank #284 Boys' name Peak 1957 1,282,809 births

Kenneth — #284 US boys' name

1,282,809 babies named Kenneth in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1957. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s3631890s12981900s45791910s432481920s994901930s1251091940s1985511950s2628221960s2275141970s1114971980s891181990s582562000s340902010s202052020s6669
#284
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 98% of names given to boys today.

1950s
Peak decade

20% of everyone ever named Kenneth was born in this single decade.

1957
Single peak year

28,060 babies were named Kenneth in 1957 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Kenneth

The Social Security Administration has registered 1,282,809 babies named Kenneth between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Kenneth currently holds the #284 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1957, when 28,060 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Kenneth performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 262,822 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Kenneth shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 98,917 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Kenneth in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Kenneth in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 1,282,809 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Kenneth at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

1,282,809

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1957

28,060 births that year

Strongest decade: 1950s

Current rank

#284

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Kenneth popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1957)
28,060
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 32

Kenneth popularity over time — girls

5,338 total births recorded since 1904 (Kenneth as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 5,338 births
-50050100150 201919971984197119581945193219191904 6

Kenneth by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1950s
Peak decade
1950s
262,822 births that decade — 20% of Kenneth's all-time total
1880s3631890s12981900s45791910s432481920s994901930s1251091940s1985511950s2628221960s2275141970s1114971980s891181990s582562000s340902010s202052020s6669

Kenneth by state

Where Kenneth concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Kenneth
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
98,917 7.7%
#2 California
92,065 7.2%
#3 Pennsylvania
75,179 5.9%
#4 Illinois
74,536 5.8%
#5 Ohio
68,993 5.4%
#6 Texas
68,862 5.4%
#7 Michigan
63,286 4.9%
#8 New Jersey
37,960 3.0%
New York share of Kenneth's total US births 7.7%
Even split

98,917 of 1,282,809 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Kenneth appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Kenneth?
1,282,809 babies have been named Kenneth since 1880. It currently ranks #284 among boys. The peak year was 1957 with 28,060 births.
When was Kenneth most popular?
Kenneth was most popular in the 1950s decade with 262,822 total births. The single peak year was 1957.
Where is Kenneth most popular?
The top states for the name Kenneth are New York (98,917 births), California (92,065 births), Pennsylvania (75,179 births).
How long has the name Kenneth been used?
Kenneth has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Kenneth?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Kent, Kenny, Kendall, Kendrick, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Kenneth

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.