Kevins
Anglicized variation of the Irish name Caoimhín meaning "kind, handsome birth".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Kevins. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kevins today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kevins births was 1961 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kevins. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kevins with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kevins. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1961
6 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2017 SSA rank
#13,322
Tracked since 1959
Census
Kevins in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 100 people with the first name Kevins, which placed it at #53,336 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
#53,336
National first-name rank
People counted
100
100 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
60.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kevins
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kevins is Black at 60.0%. The next largest groups are White (25.0%) and Hispanic (11.0%). 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 Kevins 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 Kevins at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American60.0% · 60
- White25.0% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino11.0% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Popularity
Kevins: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kevins from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kevins 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 Kevins 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 Kevins
The name Kevins originated in the late 12th century as a Cornish form of the Welsh name Cyndylan. It is derived from the Brythonic elements "kin" meaning chief or leader, and "tu" meaning people or land. The name was initially found in the region of Cornwall, located in the southwest of Britain.
In the early 13th century, the name appeared in Latin records as "Kenewinus" and "Kenwinus," indicating its widespread usage in medieval Cornwall. Some scholars believe the name may have been influenced by the Irish name Caoimhín, which shares a similar pronunciation but has a different etymology.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Kevins was Kevins of Gweek, a 13th-century Cornish landowner and minor nobleman mentioned in various medieval charters and records. Another notable figure was Kevins of Penryn, a 14th-century Cornish merchant and shipowner who played a role in the tin trade with France and the Netherlands.
In the 15th century, the name Kevins gained recognition through Sir Kevins Trevilian, a prominent Cornish soldier and landowner who fought in the Wars of the Roses. He was knighted by King Edward IV in 1471 for his loyalty and military service.
During the 16th century, Kevins Carmynow, a Cornish lawyer and member of the Parliament of England, became a notable figure. He was actively involved in the legal and political affairs of his time, representing the interests of Cornwall.
In the 17th century, Kevins Gwinear, a Cornish clergyman and scholar, gained recognition for his contributions to the study of Cornish language and culture. He published several works documenting the history and traditions of Cornwall, helping to preserve its unique heritage.
It is important to note that while the name Kevins has its roots in Cornwall, it has since been adopted and used in various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. However, the historical references and examples provided here focus on the earliest recorded instances and notable figures associated with the name within its region of origin.
People
Kevins + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kevins 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
Kevins: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kevins?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kevins 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Kevins a common name?
We classify Kevins as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kevins most popular?
The single biggest year for Kevins was 1961, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kevins is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kevins in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 100 people with the name Kevins, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,336 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 Kevins 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 Kevins?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kevins leans strongly male. 102 people counted with this name were male (93.6%), compared with 7 female bearers (6.4%). 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 Kevins?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kevins is Black at 60.0%. The next largest groups are White (25.0%) and Hispanic (11.0%). 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 Kevins most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kevins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.0% (60 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 Kevins in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kevins a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kevins 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 Kevins still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kevins 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 Kevins 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 Kevins?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.