Kenneth

Scottish and Irish

"born of fire, handsome"

Kenneth Origin and Meaning

The name Kenneth is a boy's name meaning "born of fire, handsome".

Kenneth may have lost much of its luster now, but Kenneth has had its moments of glory. The first king of Scotland was Kenneth, and Sir Kenneth, a Christian crusader, was the hero of the Sir Walter Scott novel The Talisman.

In this country, Kenneth was a Top 20 name from the 1920s through the 50s. And of course for many girls growing up, Ken was the name of Barbie's eternal boyfriend and ultimate dream date. Most recently, Kenneth Ellen (!) Parcell was the naive, perpetually smiling character on 30 Rock.

There have been a number of musical Kenneth/Kennys--Kenny Chesney, Kenny Rogers, Kenny Loggins, and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmunds.

Kenneth Rank in US Top 1000

# 284 in the US

Kenneth Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 377 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Kenneth

• 284 US 2024
• 377 Nameberry 2025
• 609 Future 2028
• 976 England 2024

20 Names Similar to Kenneth

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Kenneth.

• Curtis
• Alan
• Keith
• Neil
• Phillip
• Scott
• Ivan
• Bruce
• Allen
• Joel
• Derek
• Jared
• Raymond
• Johnathan
• Jeremiah
• Jeffrey
• Dennis
• Jeremy
• Erik
• Steven

Famous People Named Kenneth

• Kenneth I III, Kings of Scotland
• Kenneth Arnold "Kenny" Chesney American country music singer
• Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers American singer,songwriter
• Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins American singer,songwriter
• Kenneth Charles Branagh Northern Irish actor and director
• Kenneth Charles Williams English actor and comedian
• Kenneth Joseph Arrow American economist and Nobel Prize winner
• Kenneth Duva Burke American literary theorist and philosopher
• Kenneth Grahame Scottish children's novelist
• Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds American R&B singer and producer
• Kenneth Wheelock "Kenny" Mayne American TV sports journalist
• Kenneth Cole American fashion designer
• Kenneth Geddes Wilson American theoretical physicist and Nobel prize winner
• Kenneth Winston "Ken" Starr American independent counsel
• Kenneth Newton Walker U.S. Air Force general
• Kenneth More British actor
• (Charles) Kenneth Horne English comedian
• Kenneth Lamont "Kent" Bazemore Jr., American basketball player
• Kenneth Harry Clarke English MP
• Kenneth "Mr. Kenneth" Battelle American celebrity hairdresser
• Kenneth Welsh Canadian,American actor
• Kenneth Peacock Tynan English theater critic
• Kenneth Tigar American actor
• Kenneth Thomson 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian business mogul and art collector
• Kenneth Marlar Taylor U.S. Army pilot at Pearl Harbor
• (Arthur) Kenneth Searight English linguist, creator of the Sona language
• Kenneth Graham Ross Australian playwright
• Kenneth Robinson British Minister of Health
• Kenneth Rexroth American poet
• Kenneth Lee Pike American linguist
• Kenneth David Kaunda 1st President of Zambia
• Kenneth Cordele Griffin American hedge fund manager
• Kenneth Nathaniel "Nathan" Bates 5th child on "Bringing Up Bates"
• Kenneth Arthur 'Ken' Dodd English comedian

The name Kenneth in Pop Culture

• Kenneth "Ken" Carson fashion doll made by Mattel
• Kenneth Widmerpool character in A Dance to the Music of Time series by Anthony Powell
• Andromakennethamblesorten "Kenneth" Ellen Parcell character on TV's "30 Rock"
• Kenneth Monnitoff character in movie "Donnie Darko"
• Kenneth Waters character in movie "Conviction"
• Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick character on TV's South Park
• Kenneth 'Ken' McLaughlin character in Mary O'Hara's "My Friend Flicka"
• Kenneth Ford character in "Anne of Ingleside" by L.M. Montgomery
• Kenneth Dilaurentis Alison Dilaurentis' father on TV's "Pretty Little Liars"

International Variations of the name Kenneth

• Kennett Scandinavian
• Kent Scandinavian
• Kennet Scandinavian