Kenadee
A feminine name derived from the Cherokee word "kenahitenah" meaning "first-born child".
Name Census estimates that about 1,839 living Americans carry the first name Kenadee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kenadee today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenadee births was 2010 (125 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenadee. 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
- • Kenadee is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 186,381 Americans
Peak year
2010
125 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,509
Tracked since 1994
Census
Kenadee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,515 people with the first name Kenadee, which placed it at #9,262 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
#9,262
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,515 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenadee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenadee is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Kenadee 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 Kenadee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 1,107
- Black or African American12.3% · 187
- Two or more races6.9% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 86
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Popularity
Kenadee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenadee 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 856 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
Kenadee 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 Kenadee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kenadees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. Utah, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Kenadee, while Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenadee
The name Kenadee is believed to have its origins in the Gaelic language, which was spoken by the Celts of ancient Scotland and Ireland. This name is thought to be a combination of the Gaelic words "cen" meaning "ancient" or "old," and "aide" meaning "fire" or "blaze." Thus, the name Kenadee can be interpreted as "ancient fire" or "old blaze."
The earliest known records of this name date back to the 12th century, when it was used by several Scottish clans as a clan name or a personal name. It is possible that the name was initially used to describe a person who lived near an ancient or long-standing fire pit or hearth, which was an important gathering place for Celtic communities.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Kenadee was a Scottish warrior named Kenadee MacGregor, who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Scottish Wars of Independence against the English in the early 14th century. MacGregor's bravery and skill in battle earned him a reputation as a fierce and formidable warrior, and his name became associated with strength and courage.
In the 16th century, a Scottish poet named Kenadee Douglas gained recognition for his lyrical works celebrating the beauty of the Scottish Highlands and the valor of its people. Douglas's poetry helped to preserve the rich cultural heritage of Scotland and contributed to the development of Scottish literature.
Another notable figure with the name Kenadee was an Irish chieftain named Kenadee O'Donnell, who led his clan in battles against English forces during the Tudor conquest of Ireland in the late 16th century. O'Donnell's resistance to English rule and his defense of traditional Irish customs and lands earned him a place in Irish folklore as a symbol of national pride and defiance.
During the 17th century, a Scottish explorer named Kenadee Munro embarked on several voyages to the Americas and the Caribbean, where he documented his encounters with indigenous peoples and their cultures. Munro's detailed accounts and maps of the regions he visited contributed greatly to the expansion of European knowledge about the New World.
While the name Kenadee has its roots in ancient Celtic cultures, it has endured over the centuries and continues to be used today, particularly in English-speaking countries with Celtic heritage. The name's connection to fire and antiquity lends it a sense of strength, endurance, and historical significance.
People
Kenadee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenadee 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
Kenadee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenadee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,839 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenadee 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 186,381 US residents.
Is Kenadee a common name?
We classify Kenadee as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,861 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenadee most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenadee was 2010, when 125 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenadee is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kenadee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,515 people with the name Kenadee, or 0.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,262 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 Kenadee 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 Kenadee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenadee appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,519 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kenadee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenadee is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Kenadee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kenadee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (1,107 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 Kenadee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenadee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kenadee 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 Kenadee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenadee 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 Kenadee 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 Kenadee?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Kenadee on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.