Kysen
A baby boy's name possibly deriving from the Dutch word "kijzen" meaning to choose.
Name Census estimates that about 1,500 living Americans carry the first name Kysen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kysen today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kysen births was 2020 (137 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kysen. 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
- • Kysen is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 228,503 Americans
Peak year
2020
137 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,371
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Kysen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kysen from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 762 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kysen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kysen 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 Kysen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kysens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Hawaii recorded the most babies named Kysen, while Nebraska, Michigan, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kysen
The name Kysen originates from the Old Norse language, dating back to the Viking Age between the 8th and 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old Norse word "kysa," which means "to kiss" or "to embrace." The name was likely given to children as a symbol of affection and love.
In the ancient Norse sagas and poems, such as the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, there are no direct references to the name Kysen. However, some scholars believe that it may have been a diminutive form of other Old Norse names like Kyser or Kysill.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kysen dates back to the 11th century, found in the Icelandic Landnámabók (Book of Settlements). This historical text mentions a Viking named Kysen Ormsson, who settled in Iceland during the country's colonization period.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Kysen remained relatively uncommon but can be found in various Scandinavian records and documents. One notable person with this name was Kysen Gudmundsson (1210-1278), a respected chieftain and lawspeaker in Iceland during the Sturlung Age.
In the 16th century, a Norwegian explorer named Kysen Eriksson (1550-1610) gained recognition for his expeditions to the Arctic regions and his efforts in mapping the northern coast of Norway.
Another historical figure was Kysen Pedersson (1680-1758), a Danish merchant and ship owner who played a significant role in the development of trade routes between Denmark and the West Indies.
During the 19th century, a Swedish author named Kysen Johannesson (1815-1892) gained prominence for his novels and short stories depicting rural life in Sweden.
Kysen Thorvaldsson (1920-2005), an Icelandic artist, is also noteworthy for his contributions to the country's art scene, particularly his landscape paintings and sculptures.
People
Kysen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kysen 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
Kysen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kysen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,500 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kysen 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 228,503 US residents.
Is Kysen a common name?
We classify Kysen as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,511 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kysen most popular?
The single biggest year for Kysen was 2020, when 137 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kysen is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kysen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kysen 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.
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.