Kyndel
Of Dutch origin, a feminine name meaning "narrow valley".
Name Census estimates that about 483 living Americans carry the first name Kyndel. It is a predominantly female name (94.3% of registrations). The average person named Kyndel today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kyndel births was 2012 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kyndel. 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
483
~ 1 in 709,636 Americans
Peak year
2012
40 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2017 SSA rank
#10,733
Tracked since 1984
Census
Kyndel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 506 people with the first name Kyndel, which placed it at #20,423 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
#20,423
National first-name rank
People counted
506
506 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kyndel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kyndel is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Two or More Races (8.3%). 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 Kyndel 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 Kyndel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 318
- Black or African American23.5% · 119
- Two or more races8.3% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Kyndel
Kyndel leans heavily female at 94.3% of total registrations, but 28 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kyndel as a male name
- Ranked #13,413 in 2017
- 5 male births in 2017
- Peak: 2015 (7 births)
Kyndel as a female name
- Ranked #10,733 in 2021
- 9 female births in 2021
- Peak: 2012 (35 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kyndel leans strongly female. 431 people counted with this name were female (85.5%), compared with 73 male bearers (14.5%).
Popularity
Kyndel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kyndel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 201 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kyndel 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 Kyndel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kyndels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kyndel
The name Kyndel is believed to have its origins in the Germanic languages, with roots that can be traced back to the 8th century AD. It is a variation of the Old Norse name "Kyndill," which means "a torch" or "a candle." This name was likely given to individuals who were seen as beacons of light or sources of inspiration within their communities.
During the Middle Ages, the name Kyndel was particularly popular in the regions of Scandinavia, where it was often associated with individuals of noble or influential status. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, where a character named Kyndel Ormsson is mentioned as a respected warrior and chieftain who lived in the 10th century.
As the name spread throughout Europe, it underwent various spelling changes and adaptations. In Germany, for instance, the name was sometimes written as "Kundel" or "Kundell," while in England, it took on the form of "Kendall" or "Kendale."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kyndel. One of the most prominent was Kyndel Hrolfsson (890-962), a Norwegian Viking who gained fame for his exploits as a fearless raider and explorer. Another noteworthy figure was Kyndel the Wise (1045-1112), a renowned scholar and philosopher from Denmark, whose writings on ethics and morality influenced the intellectual discourse of his time.
In the realm of literature, the name Kyndel appears in the epic poem "Beowulf," where it is mentioned as the name of a minor character. Additionally, a 14th-century English manuscript known as the "Kyndel Chronicle" was attributed to a scribe named Kyndel, though little is known about the author's identity.
Other historical figures bearing the name Kyndel include Kyndel Eriksson (1220-1288), a Swedish nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the Swedish-Danish wars of the 13th century, and Kyndel von Rothenburg (1380-1442), a German architect and master builder who oversaw the construction of several prominent churches and cathedrals in central Europe.
While the name Kyndel has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a testament to the rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity of the Germanic peoples, serving as a reminder of the enduring legacy of names that have been passed down through generations.
People
Kyndel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kyndel 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
Kyndel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kyndel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 483 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kyndel 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 709,636 US residents.
Is Kyndel a common name?
We classify Kyndel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 491 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kyndel most popular?
The single biggest year for Kyndel was 2012, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kyndel 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 Kyndel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 506 people with the name Kyndel, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,423 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 Kyndel 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 Kyndel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kyndel leans strongly female. 431 people counted with this name were female (85.5%), compared with 73 male 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 Kyndel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kyndel is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Two or More Races (8.3%). 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 Kyndel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kyndel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (318 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 Kyndel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kyndel a female name?
Yes, 94.3% of people registered as Kyndel in the SSA data are female. 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 Kyndel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kyndel 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 Kyndel 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 common is the name Kyndel?
See how many people have the name Kyndel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.