Kendon
Derived from an English surname of unknown origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 890 living Americans carry the first name Kendon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kendon today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kendon births was 2014 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kendon. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kendon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
890
~ 1 in 385,117 Americans
Peak year
2014
40 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,484
Tracked since 1959
Census
Kendon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 806 people with the first name Kendon, which placed it at #14,580 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
#14,580
National first-name rank
People counted
806
806 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kendon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kendon is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.8%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Kendon 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 Kendon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.2% · 477
- Black or African American27.8% · 224
- Two or more races6.2% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 14
Popularity
Kendon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kendon from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 311 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
Kendon 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 Kendon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kendons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kendon
The name Kendon is a unique and relatively uncommon name with its origins tracing back to Old English. It is derived from the combination of two words: "cen" meaning "bold" or "brave," and "don" meaning "hill" or "down." Together, the name Kendon can be interpreted to mean "brave hill" or "bold down."
This name has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon culture that flourished in Britain during the 5th to 11th centuries. It is likely that the name was initially used as a descriptive term for someone who lived on a prominent hill or elevated terrain, and was known for their courageous or fearless nature.
While the name Kendon does not appear to have any significant historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been recorded in various historical records and documents throughout the centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kendon can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is listed as a place name, suggesting that it may have been derived from a location or settlement.
In the 14th century, a man named Kendon de Burleigh was mentioned in the rolls of the English Parliament, indicating that the name was in use during that time period.
Fast forward to the 16th century, a notable figure named Kendon Digby (1520-1567) was an English Jesuit priest and scholar, known for his work in theology and philosophy.
Another historical figure bearing this name was Kendon Stokes (1825-1902), a British painter and illustrator who gained recognition for his landscape paintings and illustrations for books and magazines.
In more recent history, Kendon Underwood (1914-1976) was an American author and journalist, best known for his novels and short stories set in the American West.
While the name Kendon may not be as widely recognized as some other names, it has a rich history and a unique meaning that reflects the bold and courageous spirit of those who bore it throughout the ages.
People
Kendon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kendon 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
Kendon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kendon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 890 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kendon 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 385,117 US residents.
Is Kendon a common name?
We classify Kendon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 908 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kendon most popular?
The single biggest year for Kendon was 2014, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kendon is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kendon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 806 people with the name Kendon, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,580 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 Kendon 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 Kendon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kendon leans strongly male. 790 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 14 female bearers (1.7%). 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 Kendon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kendon is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Black (27.8%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Kendon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kendon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.2% (477 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 Kendon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kendon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kendon 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 Kendon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kendon 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 Kendon 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 have Kendon as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Kendon, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.