Kennedie
Feminine name of Scottish origin, a medieval variant of Kennedy.
Name Census estimates that about 1,352 living Americans carry the first name Kennedie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kennedie today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kennedie births was 2007 (83 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kennedie. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 253,517 Americans
Peak year
2007
83 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,756
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Kennedie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kennedie 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 639 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
Kennedie 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 Kennedie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kennedies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kennedie, while North Carolina, Utah, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kennedie
The given name Kennedie has its origins in the Gaelic language spoken in Scotland and Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic words "ceann" meaning "head" and "eidhidh" meaning "armored." Together, these words form the name "Ceanneidigh," which translates to "helmet-headed" or "ugly head."
This name likely originated in the Middle Ages, when helmets and armor were commonly worn by warriors and soldiers. It may have been used as a descriptive name or a nickname for someone with a distinctive or unusual-looking head or helmet.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kennedie can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient chronicle of medieval Irish history. The entry for the year 1292 mentions a man named "Gillecalline Kennedie" who was involved in a conflict in Scotland.
The name gained prominence in Scotland during the 13th and 14th centuries, particularly among the Clan Kennedy, a powerful Scottish family with roots in Ayrshire. The Clan Kennedy played a significant role in Scottish history, and several members of the clan held influential positions in the Scottish government and military.
One notable figure with the name Kennedie was Sir James Kennedy (1406-1465), a Scottish prelate who served as Bishop of St. Andrews and played a crucial role in the founding of the University of St. Andrews in 1413. He was also a key figure in the political and religious affairs of Scotland during his time.
Another famous bearer of the name was Matthew Kennedy (1501-1551), a Scottish Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Glasgow and played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation. He was a supporter of the Catholic Church and was involved in several controversies with Protestant reformers.
In the 16th century, the name Kennedie also found its way to Ireland, where it was adopted by several families, particularly in Ulster. One notable Irish bearer of the name was Quentin Kennedy (1520-1564), a Catholic priest and theologian who was a prominent figure in the Counter-Reformation in Ireland.
The name Kennedie continued to be used in Scotland and Ireland throughout the centuries, and several other notable individuals bore the name, including:
1. Walter Kennedy (1459-1508), a Scottish clergyman and diplomat who served as Bishop of Dunkeld and played a significant role in Scottish politics during the reign of King James IV.
2. Thomas Kennedy (1776-1846), a Scottish mathematician and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of natural philosophy and was a proponent of the wave theory of light.
3. Edmond Kennedy (1805-1848), an Irish explorer and surveyor who led expeditions in Australia and was one of the first Europeans to explore parts of the Australian outback.
4. John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870), an American novelist and politician who served as Secretary of the Navy under President Millard Fillmore and was a prominent figure in the literary scene of antebellum Baltimore.
While the name Kennedie has its roots in Scottish and Irish history, it has since spread to other parts of the world and has been adopted by people of various cultural backgrounds.
People
Kennedie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kennedie 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
Kennedie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kennedie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,352 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kennedie 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 253,517 US residents.
Is Kennedie a common name?
We classify Kennedie as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,371 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kennedie most popular?
The single biggest year for Kennedie was 2007, when 83 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kennedie is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kennedie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kennedie 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.
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.