Kynnedi
A feminine name of American origin derived from Kennedy, meaning "unlucky head."
Name Census estimates that about 1,362 living Americans carry the first name Kynnedi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kynnedi today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kynnedi births was 2019 (108 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kynnedi. 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
- • Kynnedi is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 251,655 Americans
Peak year
2019
108 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,844
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Kynnedi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kynnedi from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 740 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kynnedi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kynnedi 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 Kynnedi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kynnedis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Kynnedi, while Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kynnedi
The name Kynnedi is a variant spelling of the English name Kennedy, which has its origins in the Gaelic language of Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic words "ceann" meaning "head" and "éidigh" meaning "armored" or "matted." It is believed to have originated as a Scottish surname referring to a person who wore a type of head armor or helmet.
The name Kennedy first appeared in historical records in the 13th century, with references to individuals bearing the surname in Scottish charters and documents from that time period. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in 1278, when a man named John Kennedy was mentioned in the Ragman Rolls, a collection of homage pledges made to King Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landowners.
Throughout the centuries, the Kennedy name has been associated with several prominent Scottish families and clans, particularly the Kennedys of Carrick and the Kennedys of Dunure. These families played important roles in Scottish history, with members serving as politicians, military leaders, and landowners.
In the 16th century, the Kennedys rose to prominence through their association with the Stewart dynasty, the royal house of Scotland. One notable figure was Gilbert Kennedy, who served as the Lord Treasurer of Scotland during the reign of King James IV in the early 1500s.
Another significant bearer of the name was Mathew Kennedy, a 16th-century Scottish philosopher and reformer who was a prominent figure in the Scottish Reformation. He was born in 1497 and played a crucial role in the intellectual and religious debates of his time.
In more recent history, the Kennedy surname gained international recognition through the influential American political dynasty of the same name. The most famous member of this family was John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, who was born in 1917 and served as President from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
Other notable individuals with the first name Kennedy include Kennedy Davenport, an American drag queen and performer born in 1991; Kennedy Edmonds, an American actress born in 1973; Kennedy Holmes, an American actress born in 1976; and Kennedy McMann, an American actress born in 1996.
While the variant spelling "Kynnedi" is less common, it reflects the diverse ways in which the name has been adapted and interpreted over time, reflecting its rich history and cultural significance.
People
Kynnedi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kynnedi 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
Kynnedi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kynnedi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,362 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kynnedi 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 251,655 US residents.
Is Kynnedi a common name?
We classify Kynnedi as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,374 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kynnedi most popular?
The single biggest year for Kynnedi was 2019, when 108 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kynnedi is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kynnedi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kynnedi 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.
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.