Kenneth
Top 1000
About Kenneth
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.
Pronounced KEN-ith.
As of October 2026, Kenneth ranked #294 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #13 in 1939, Nameberry popularity #203.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #191 | 2,153 | 1,120.8 |
| 2015 | #200 | 2,031 | 1,059.6 |
| 2016 | #208 | 1,919 | 1,011.2 |
| 2017 | #218 | 1,765 | 953.6 |
| 2018 | #225 | 1,671 | 920.1 |
| 2019 | #234 | 1,622 | 904 |
| 2020 | #243 | 1,482 | 858.6 |
| 2021 | #258 | 1,373 | 784.8 |
| 2022 | #263 | 1,310 | 750.3 |
| 2023 | #262 | 1,318 | 770.5 |
| 2024 | #284 | 1,186 | 688.4 |
| 2025 | #294 | 1,148 | 672.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Kenneth.
- Neil
- Alan
- Curtis
- Keith
- Phillip
- Allen
- Ivan
- Jérémie
- Scott
- Bruce
- Derek
- Emmanuel
- Raymond
- Joel
- Russell
- Trevor
- Sean
- Travis
- Jeremiah
- Troy
Kenneth on lists
Famous Kenneths
- 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
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"