Kinnon
Of uncertain etymology, potentially derived from Gaelic meaning "born of fire".
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Kinnon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kinnon today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kinnon births was 1996 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kinnon. 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 Kinnon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1996
7 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,607
Tracked since 1996
Census
Kinnon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 119 people with the first name Kinnon, which placed it at #50,492 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
#50,492
National first-name rank
People counted
119
119 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kinnon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kinnon is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Kinnon 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 Kinnon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 87
- Black or African American18.5% · 22
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Popularity
Kinnon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kinnon from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 7 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
Kinnon 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 Kinnon 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 Kinnon
The name Kinnon is believed to have originated from the Scottish Gaelic language. Its roots can be traced back to the medieval era, particularly in the regions of Scotland and Ireland. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "cionn," which means "head" or "chief."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kinnon can be found in the Scottish Highlands, where it was commonly used as a first name among the clans and families of the region. The name was often associated with leadership, strength, and a sense of authority, reflecting its linguistic origins.
Throughout history, the name Kinnon has been associated with several notable individuals. One prominent figure was Kinnon MacAlpin, a Scottish chieftain who lived in the 12th century and played a significant role in the clan conflicts of the time. Another notable bearer of the name was Kinnon MacDonald, a Scottish poet and writer who lived in the 16th century and contributed to the preservation of Gaelic literature.
In the realm of religion, the name Kinnon has been linked to various figures within the Christian tradition. Saint Kinnon, a 7th-century Irish monk and missionary, is remembered for his efforts in spreading Christianity throughout Ireland and parts of Scotland.
Moving into more recent times, Kinnon Gillespie (1899-1976) was a prominent Scottish businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of the whisky industry in Scotland. Additionally, Kinnon Beaton (1924-2008) was a renowned Scottish actor and playwright, known for his performances in both theater and film.
While the name Kinnon has its origins in the Scottish Gaelic culture, it has also been adopted and used in various other parts of the world, although with less frequency. The name's association with leadership, strength, and authority has contributed to its enduring appeal across different cultural contexts.
People
Kinnon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kinnon 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
Kinnon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kinnon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kinnon 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Kinnon a common name?
We classify Kinnon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kinnon most popular?
The single biggest year for Kinnon was 1996, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kinnon is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kinnon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 119 people with the name Kinnon, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,492 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 Kinnon 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 Kinnon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kinnon leans strongly male. 100 people counted with this name were male (85.5%), compared with 17 female bearers (14.5%). 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 Kinnon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kinnon is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Kinnon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kinnon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (87 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 Kinnon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kinnon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kinnon 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 Kinnon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kinnon 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 Kinnon 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 are called Kinnon?
You can see how many Americans are named Kinnon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.