Kenuel
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has strengthened" or "Created by God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Kenuel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kenuel today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenuel births was 2016 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenuel. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kenuel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2016
5 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,283
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Kenuel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kenuel 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 Kenuel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenuel
The given name Kenuel is derived from the Hebrew language and can be traced back to ancient biblical times. It is a combination of two Hebrew words, "ken" meaning "established" or "firm," and "el," which is a reference to the Almighty God. The name Kenuel, therefore, carries the meaning of "established by God" or "firm with God."
In the Old Testament, Kenuel is mentioned as the father of Caleb, one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan. This reference is found in Numbers 32:12 and Joshua 14:6, indicating that the name was in use among the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt and subsequent conquest of Canaan, around the 13th century BCE.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Kenuel was Kenuel ben Isaac, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 9th century CE in Babylonia. He is known for his contributions to the field of Jewish ethics and his commentaries on various religious texts.
In the 12th century, Kenuel ben Joseph was a renowned Jewish poet and scholar from Spain. He was known for his masterful Hebrew poetry and his work as a grammarian, contributing to the understanding and preservation of the Hebrew language.
During the Renaissance period, Kenuel Abravanel (1470-1528) was a notable Jewish scholar and philosopher from Portugal. He wrote extensively on various subjects, including philosophy, theology, and biblical exegesis, and his works influenced later Jewish thinkers.
In more recent history, Kenuel Semple (1869-1942) was a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1935, representing the riding of Waterloo South.
Kenuel Avishur (1884-1958) was an Israeli author and playwright who played a significant role in the development of modern Hebrew literature. He is best known for his historical novels and plays that explored themes related to Jewish identity and the struggles of the Jewish people.
These examples demonstrate the enduring presence of the name Kenuel throughout history, spanning various cultures and time periods, and its association with individuals who have made notable contributions in their respective fields.
People
Kenuel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenuel 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
Kenuel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenuel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenuel 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Kenuel a common name?
We classify Kenuel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenuel most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenuel was 2016, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenuel is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kenuel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenuel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kenuel 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 Kenuel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenuel 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 Kenuel 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Kenuel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.