Kenaz
A Hebrew masculine name derived from the Semitic root denoting a spear or lance.
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the first name Kenaz. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kenaz today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenaz births was 2008 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenaz. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
123
~ 1 in 2,786,621 Americans
Peak year
2008
12 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,258
Tracked since 1999
Census
Kenaz in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 153 people with the first name Kenaz, which placed it at #44,840 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#44,840
National first-name rank
People counted
153
153 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenaz
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenaz is Black at 72.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kenaz described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kenaz at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.5% · 111
- White9.2% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.8% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 9
- Two or more races3.9% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Kenaz: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenaz from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 79 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kenaz by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kenaz during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenaz
The name Kenaz is believed to have its origins in the Proto-Germanic language, dating back to around the 1st century BCE. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "kenhaz," which means "warrior" or "brave one." The name was particularly popular among the ancient Germanic tribes, such as the Goths, Vandals, and Franks, who inhabited parts of modern-day Germany, Scandinavia, and the Low Countries.
One of the earliest known references to the name Kenaz can be found in the Elder Futhark, the oldest known runic alphabet used by the Germanic peoples. In this alphabet, the rune "Kenaz" (ᚲ) represented the letter "K" and was associated with concepts of torchlight, knowledge, and creativity.
The name Kenaz has been recorded in various historical documents throughout the centuries. In the 6th century CE, a Frankish warrior named Kenaz was mentioned in the chronicles of Gregory of Tours, a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours. Another notable figure with this name was Kenaz the Scribe, a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon monk and scholar who is credited with creating several illuminated manuscripts.
During the Middle Ages, the name Kenaz was relatively uncommon, but it did make appearances in certain regions. For instance, a Kenaz was recorded as a landowner in the Domesday Book, a famous survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Kenaz was Kenaz Ricardus, a 12th-century English nobleman and knight who fought in the Third Crusade alongside King Richard the Lionheart. He is mentioned in several chronicles of the time for his bravery and skill in battle.
In the 16th century, a German artist and engraver named Kenaz Burgkmair gained recognition for his exquisite woodcuts and engravings, many of which depicted religious and mythological scenes. His works were highly sought after by collectors and patrons throughout Europe.
Another notable figure with the name Kenaz was Kenaz Ericsson, a 17th-century Swedish explorer and navigator who is credited with mapping parts of the Arctic regions and contributing to the advancement of cartography during his time.
While the name Kenaz has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains an intriguing part of linguistic and cultural history, reflecting the warrior spirit and creative essence of the ancient Germanic peoples.
People
Kenaz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenaz as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kenaz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenaz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenaz going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,786,621 US residents.
Is Kenaz a common name?
We classify Kenaz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenaz most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenaz was 2008, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenaz is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kenaz in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 153 people with the name Kenaz, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,840 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kenaz in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kenaz?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenaz leans strongly male. 141 people counted with this name were male (91.6%), compared with 13 female bearers (8.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kenaz?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenaz is Black at 72.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kenaz most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kenaz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (111 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kenaz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenaz a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kenaz in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kenaz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenaz in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kenaz can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Kenaz?
You can see how many people share the name Kenaz on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.