Kenzel
Of Germanic origin, a diminutive form meaning "handsome youth".
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Kenzel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kenzel today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenzel births was 1992 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenzel. 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
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
1992
13 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,649
Tracked since 1990
Census
Kenzel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 164 people with the first name Kenzel, which placed it at #43,191 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
#43,191
National first-name rank
People counted
164
164 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
67.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenzel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenzel is Black at 67.1%. The next largest groups are White (16.5%) 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 Kenzel 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 Kenzel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American67.1% · 110
- White16.5% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 14
- Two or more races4.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 5
Popularity
Kenzel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenzel from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 59 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Kenzel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kenzel 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 Kenzel 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 Kenzel
The given name Kenzel is believed to have originated from the Old German language, derived from the root words "kennen" meaning "to know" and "zelle" meaning "cell" or "room." This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with someone who was considered wise, knowledgeable, or scholarly.
Kenzel was primarily used in Germanic regions during the Middle Ages, particularly in areas that are now parts of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 12th century, where it appeared in various historical documents and records from that era.
One notable historical reference to the name Kenzel can be found in the writings of the renowned German philosopher and theologian, Meister Eckhart, who lived from around 1260 to 1328. In one of his sermons, he mentioned a person named Kenzel, though the specific context and details are not entirely clear.
Throughout history, several individuals have borne the name Kenzel, though admittedly, it has not been a particularly common or widely used name. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Kenzel von Trausnitz, a German knight who lived in the 13th century and participated in the Crusades.
Another notable figure was Kenzel Hausmann, a German artist and engraver who lived from 1520 to 1580. He was known for his intricate woodcuts and engravings, many of which depicted religious scenes and themes.
In the 17th century, there was Kenzel Freiherr von Degenfeld, a German nobleman and military officer who served in the Thirty Years' War from 1618 to 1648. He was renowned for his bravery and leadership on the battlefield.
Moving forward to the 19th century, one could find Kenzel Kirnberger, a German musician and composer who lived from 1821 to 1879. He was particularly known for his contributions to the development of music theory and his compositions for various instruments.
Finally, in the early 20th century, there was Kenzel von Düring, a German politician and diplomat who served as the German Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1912. He played a significant role in shaping the diplomatic relations between the two nations during that time period.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Kenzel, highlighting its Germanic origins and occasional usage, primarily in various parts of Europe over the centuries.
People
Kenzel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenzel 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
Kenzel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenzel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenzel 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 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Kenzel a common name?
We classify Kenzel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 161 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenzel most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenzel was 1992, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenzel is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kenzel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 164 people with the name Kenzel, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,191 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 Kenzel 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 Kenzel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenzel leans strongly male. 146 people counted with this name were male (91.3%), compared with 14 female bearers (8.8%). 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 Kenzel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenzel is Black at 67.1%. The next largest groups are White (16.5%) 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 Kenzel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kenzel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.1% (110 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 Kenzel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenzel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kenzel 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 Kenzel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenzel 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 Kenzel 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 share the name Kenzel?
Find out how many people have the name Kenzel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.