Kennieth
Variant of Kenneth, an English masculine name meaning "born of fire" or "handsome".
Name Census estimates that about 343 living Americans carry the first name Kennieth. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kennieth today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kennieth births was 1955 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kennieth. 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
343
~ 1 in 999,284 Americans
Peak year
1955
19 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1999 SSA rank
#9,340
Tracked since 1939
Census
Kennieth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 201 people with the first name Kennieth, which placed it at #38,294 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
#38,294
National first-name rank
People counted
201
201 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
50.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kennieth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kennieth is Black at 50.7%. The next largest groups are White (34.3%) and Hispanic (8.5%). 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 Kennieth 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 Kennieth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.7% · 102
- White34.3% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 17
- Two or more races5.5% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
Popularity
Kennieth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kennieth from the 1930s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 139 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kennieth 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 Kennieth 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 Kennieth
The name Kennieth is a variant of the English name Kenneth, which is derived from the Gaelic name Cainnech. Cainnech is a Celtic name that originated in Scotland and Ireland, and it means "handsome" or "born of fire."
The name Kennieth traces its roots back to the 6th century when Saint Cainnech, also known as Saint Kenneth, lived in Scotland. He was a Catholic abbot and missionary who founded several monasteries in the region. The name gained popularity in Scotland and Ireland after his canonization.
In the early Middle Ages, the name Kennieth appeared in various historical records and manuscripts in Scotland and Ireland. One of the earliest known records is from the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a person named Kennieth in the year 815.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kennieth. One of the earliest recorded examples is Kennieth I, King of Scotland, who ruled from 844 to 858. Another prominent figure was Kennieth III, King of Scotland, who reigned from 997 to 1005.
In the 12th century, Kennieth Mac Alpin, also known as Kenneth I, became the first king of a united Scotland after the Picts and Scots merged. He ruled from 843 to 858 and is considered one of the most influential kings in Scottish history.
During the 16th century, Kennieth Mackenzie, born in 1570, was a Scottish nobleman and the 9th Earl of Seaforth. He played a significant role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, supporting the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
Another notable figure was Kennieth Branagh, an Irish actor, director, and writer born in 1960. He is known for his adaptations of Shakespeare's plays and his role as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter film series.
While the name Kennieth has its roots in Scotland and Ireland, it has gained popularity worldwide and is used in various cultures and regions. However, its origins can be traced back to the Celtic name Cainnech and the life of Saint Cainnech, who lived in the 6th century.
People
Kennieth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kennieth 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
Kennieth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kennieth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 343 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kennieth 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 999,284 US residents.
Is Kennieth a common name?
We classify Kennieth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 424 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kennieth most popular?
The single biggest year for Kennieth was 1955, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kennieth is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kennieth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 201 people with the name Kennieth, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,294 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 Kennieth 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 Kennieth?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kennieth leans strongly male. 199 people counted with this name were male (96.6%), compared with 7 female bearers (3.4%). 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 Kennieth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kennieth is Black at 50.7%. The next largest groups are White (34.3%) and Hispanic (8.5%). 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 Kennieth most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kennieth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.7% (102 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 Kennieth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kennieth a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kennieth 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 Kennieth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kennieth 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 Kennieth 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 have the name Kennieth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.