Keneth
A masculine given name of Scottish origin, derived from the Celtic name Cainnech.
Name Census estimates that about 1,008 living Americans carry the first name Keneth. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Keneth today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keneth births was 1956 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keneth. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 340,034 Americans
Peak year
1956
28 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,647
Tracked since 1914
Census
Keneth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,595 people with the first name Keneth, which placed it at #6,229 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
#6,229
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,595 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keneth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keneth is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.1%) and Black (15.6%). 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 Keneth 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 Keneth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.2% · 1,380
- Hispanic or Latino25.1% · 651
- Black or African American15.6% · 405
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 75
- Two or more races2.3% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 25
Popularity
Keneth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keneth from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 215 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keneth 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 Keneth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keneths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Keneth, while Texas, Florida, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keneth
The name Keneth is a variant of the Scottish name Kenneth, which is derived from the Gaelic name Cinneidigh. The name Cinneidigh is composed of two elements: the Gaelic word "cionn," meaning "head," and the Old Celtic word "aidh," meaning "fire" or "born of fire." Together, the name Keneth can be interpreted as "born of fire" or "chief" or "leader."
The name Keneth has its roots in the ancient Celtic culture and can be traced back to the early medieval period in Scotland. It was initially popular among the ruling classes and nobility in Scotland, and some of the earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 11th century.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Keneth was Kenneth I, who ruled as the King of the Picts and the King of Scots from 843 to 858 AD. He is credited with uniting the Picts and the Scots into one kingdom, laying the foundation for the modern nation of Scotland.
Another famous bearer of the name was Kenneth III, who reigned as the King of Scots from 997 to 1005 AD. During his reign, he worked to strengthen the kingdom's defenses against Viking invasions and helped solidify the Christian faith in Scotland.
In the 12th century, Kenneth Sutherland, the 5th Earl of Sutherland, was a prominent Scottish nobleman who played a significant role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England.
In the 14th century, Kenneth of Deskford, a Scottish nobleman and cleric, served as the Bishop of Moray from 1362 to 1390. He was highly influential in the Scottish Church during his time.
In more recent history, Kenneth Graham (1859-1932) was a renowned English author best known for his children's classic "The Wind in the Willows," which features characters with names derived from the name Kenneth, such as Mr. Toad and Ratty.
While the name Keneth has its origins in Scotland and the ancient Celtic culture, it has since gained popularity and been used in various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. However, it is still most commonly associated with its Scottish heritage and the rich history and traditions of the region.
People
Keneth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keneth 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
Keneth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keneth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,008 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keneth 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 340,034 US residents.
Is Keneth a common name?
We classify Keneth as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,454 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keneth most popular?
The single biggest year for Keneth was 1956, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keneth is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keneth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,595 people with the name Keneth, or 0.86 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,229 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 Keneth 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 Keneth?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keneth appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,602 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Keneth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keneth is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.1%) and Black (15.6%). 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 Keneth most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Keneth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.2% (1,380 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 Keneth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keneth a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keneth 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 Keneth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keneth 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 Keneth 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 Keneth?
See how many Americans are named Keneth on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.