Kendra
Feminine name derived from Sanskrit meaning "chief, princess".
Name Census estimates that about 92,848 living Americans carry the first name Kendra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kendra today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kendra births was 1987 (3,863 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kendra. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kendra with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kendra is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 350 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
93K
~ 1 in 3,692 Americans
Peak year
1987
3,863 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2013 SSA rank
#687
Tracked since 1936
Census
Kendra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 84,515 people with the first name Kendra, which placed it at #624 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
#624
National first-name rank
People counted
85K
84,515 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
28.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kendra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kendra is White at 63.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Kendra 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 Kendra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.8% · 53,930
- Black or African American20.1% · 17,013
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 8,186
- Two or more races4.5% · 3,776
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 843
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 767
Gender
Gender distribution for Kendra
Out of the 98,460 babies given the name Kendra since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Kendra as a male name
- Ranked #11,492 in 2013
- 6 male births in 2013
- Peak: 1989 (38 births)
Kendra as a female name
- Ranked #687 in 2024
- 412 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1987 (3,841 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kendra appears almost entirely female. Of the 84,524 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Kendra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kendra from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 24,556 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kendra 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 Kendra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kendras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kendra, while Delaware, Hawaii, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,882 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kendra
The name Kendra is derived from the Sanskrit word "Kendra," which means "center" or "heart." It is believed to have originated in ancient India, where it was used as a name for both males and females.
In Hindu mythology, Kendra is also associated with the concept of the "chakras," which are the energy centers in the body. The name may have been given to individuals who were believed to have a strong spiritual connection or a deep understanding of these energy centers.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kendra can be found in the ancient Hindu texts, such as the Upanishads and the Vedas, which date back to around 800 BCE. In these texts, the name is mentioned in reference to various spiritual concepts and philosophical teachings.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kendra. One of the earliest recorded examples is Kendra Gupta, an Indian ruler from the 5th century CE, who was known for his patronage of the arts and his contributions to the development of the Gupta Empire.
Another historical figure with the name Kendra was Kendra Devi, a 16th-century Indian queen who ruled the Rajput kingdom of Marwar (present-day Rajasthan) from 1537 to 1572. She was renowned for her courage and military prowess, as well as her efforts to promote education and culture in her kingdom.
In the realm of literature, Kendra Jaideva was a 12th-century Indian poet and writer who authored the famous Sanskrit work "Khandana-Khanda-Khadya," a satirical critique of the social and religious practices of his time.
Moving forward in time, Kendra Kapoor was a 19th-century Indian philosopher and social reformer who advocated for women's rights and education. She is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the Indian feminist movement.
Another notable figure with the name Kendra was Kendra Chatterji (1923-2007), an Indian sculptor and artist who was known for her innovative use of materials and her exploration of themes related to nature and spirituality.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Kendra, which has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including rulers, writers, philosophers, and artists, spanning centuries of Indian history.
People
Kendra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kendra 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
Kendra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kendra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 92,848 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kendra 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 3,692 US residents.
Is Kendra a common name?
We classify Kendra as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 98,460 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kendra most popular?
The single biggest year for Kendra was 1987, when 3,863 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kendra is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kendra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 84,515 people with the name Kendra, or 27.98 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #624 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 Kendra 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 Kendra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kendra appears almost entirely female. Of the 84,524 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kendra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kendra is White at 63.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Kendra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kendra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.8% (53,930 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 Kendra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kendra a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Kendra in the SSA data are female. 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 Kendra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kendra 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 Kendra 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 common is the name Kendra?
See how many people share the name Kendra on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.