Kenedy
Of English origin, meaning a descendant of the wise or knowledgeable leader.
Name Census estimates that about 618 living Americans carry the first name Kenedy. It is a predominantly female name (96.8% of registrations). The average person named Kenedy today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenedy births was 2000 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenedy. 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
618
~ 1 in 554,619 Americans
Peak year
2000
48 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2007 SSA rank
#10,375
Tracked since 1994
Census
Kenedy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 828 people with the first name Kenedy, which placed it at #14,266 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
#14,266
National first-name rank
People counted
828
828 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenedy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenedy is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.5%) and Black (18.6%). 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 Kenedy 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 Kenedy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.1% · 423
- Hispanic or Latino21.5% · 178
- Black or African American18.6% · 154
- Two or more races5.0% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Kenedy
Kenedy leans heavily female at 96.8% of total registrations, but 20 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kenedy as a male name
- Ranked #10,375 in 2007
- 7 male births in 2007
- Peak: 2003 (8 births)
Kenedy as a female name
- Ranked #16,398 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2000 (48 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kenedy on both sides of the split. Of the 827 people counted with this name, 191 were male (23.1%) and 636 were female (76.9%).
Popularity
Kenedy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenedy 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 328 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
Kenedy 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 Kenedy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kenedys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenedy
The name Kenedy has its roots in the Gaelic language, originating from Ireland and Scotland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic words "Ceann" and "Éidigh," which together translate to "ugly head" or "misshapen head." This peculiar name origin is believed to have emerged as a descriptive nickname for someone with a distinct physical characteristic.
In ancient Irish annals and historical records, the name appears as early as the 12th century, often spelled as "Cennéidigh" or "Cenndidigh." One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Cennéidigh Ua Briain, a 12th-century Irish nobleman and member of the powerful Uí Briain dynasty.
During the Middle Ages, the name Kenedy gained prominence in Scotland, where it evolved into various spellings like "Kennedy" and "Kennedye." The Kennedy clan, which traces its roots to the 13th century, played a significant role in Scottish history and produced several notable figures.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was James Kennedy (1406-1465), a Scottish prelate who served as Bishop of St. Andrews and was a prominent figure in the Scottish Renaissance. Another notable figure was Quentin Kennedy (1520-1564), a Scottish Catholic prelate and theologian who engaged in religious debates during the Scottish Reformation.
In the 16th century, the name Kenedy crossed the Atlantic and found its way to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of David Kenedy (1719-1783), an Irish-born Presbyterian minister who immigrated to Pennsylvania and became a prominent figure in the American Revolutionary War.
Fast forward to the 19th century, John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870) was an American novelist and politician who served as Secretary of the Navy under President Millard Fillmore. His literary works, including "Swallow Barn" and "Horse-Shoe Robinson," contributed to the development of American literature.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), the 35th President of the United States. His leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis and his vision for civil rights and space exploration have left an indelible mark on American history.
People
Kenedy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenedy 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
Kenedy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenedy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 618 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenedy 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 554,619 US residents.
Is Kenedy a common name?
We classify Kenedy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 628 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenedy most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenedy was 2000, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenedy is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kenedy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 828 people with the name Kenedy, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,266 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 Kenedy 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 Kenedy?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kenedy on both sides of the split. Of the 827 people counted with this name, 191 were male (23.1%) and 636 were female (76.9%). 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 Kenedy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenedy is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.5%) and Black (18.6%). 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 Kenedy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kenedy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (423 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 Kenedy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenedy a female name?
Yes, 96.8% of people registered as Kenedy 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 Kenedy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenedy 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 Kenedy 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 Kenedy?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.