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.
More common than 98% of names given to boys today.
20% of everyone ever named Kenneth was born in this single decade.
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' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Kenneth popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1957)
- 28,060
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #284 among boys.
1,282,809 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1957 with 28,060 births in a single year.
Kenneth popularity over time — girls
5,338 total births recorded since 1904 (Kenneth as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Kenneth accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Kenneth by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1950s
- 262,822 births that decade — 20% of Kenneth's all-time total
Kenneth decade highlights
- Peak decade 262,822 births
- Runner-up 227,514 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1950s was Kenneth's strongest decade
262,822 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 20% of all-time use.
Kenneth by state
Where Kenneth concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| 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% |
98,917 of 1,282,809 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 7.7% of nationwide
- California 7.2% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 5.9% of nationwide
- Illinois 5.8% of nationwide
- Ohio 5.4% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 7.7% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Kenneth appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.