Kenner
A German surname adapted as a masculine given name with meaning unknown.
Name Census estimates that about 511 living Americans carry the first name Kenner. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kenner today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenner births was 2015 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenner. 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
511
~ 1 in 670,752 Americans
Peak year
2015
31 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,249
Tracked since 1932
Census
Kenner in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 596 people with the first name Kenner, which placed it at #18,169 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
#18,169
National first-name rank
People counted
596
596 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
45.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenner
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenner is Hispanic at 45.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.3%) and Black (9.1%). 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 Kenner 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 Kenner at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino45.0% · 268
- White41.3% · 246
- Black or African American9.1% · 54
- Two or more races2.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Popularity
Kenner: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenner from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 188 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kenner remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kenner 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 Kenner during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kenners live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenner
The name Kenner is believed to have its origins in the German language, derived from the Old High German word "kennari," which means "teacher" or "scholar." This association with learning and education can be traced back to the medieval period, around the 10th to 12th centuries.
In ancient Germanic cultures, the role of a teacher or scholar was highly respected, and those who held such positions were often revered for their knowledge and wisdom. The name Kenner may have been given to individuals who excelled in academic pursuits or displayed a deep understanding of a particular subject matter.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kenner can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a medieval manuscript from the 9th century that documented land transactions and ownership in the region of Westphalia, Germany. The name appears in this text as a reference to an individual involved in legal proceedings or property matters.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Kenner. One such individual was Kenner von Friesach, a German scholar and theologian who lived in the 13th century. He was known for his contributions to the study of canon law and served as a professor at the University of Paris.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Kenner von Nordhausen, a German composer and musician from the 14th century. His works, including sacred motets and secular songs, were influential in the development of polyphonic music during the Renaissance period.
In the 16th century, Kenner von Nürnberg was a renowned artist and engraver from the city of Nuremberg, Germany. His intricate woodcuts and engravings were highly sought after and helped to establish the reputation of German printmaking during the Renaissance.
Moving forward to the 18th century, Kenner von Marienburg was a Prussian military officer and strategist who played a crucial role in the Seven Years' War. His tactical insights and leadership contributed to several significant victories for the Prussian forces.
In the realm of literature, Kenner von Hausen was a 19th-century German poet and novelist known for his romantic works that celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience. His poetry and prose captured the imagination of readers across Europe during the Romantic era.
While these historical figures represent a diverse range of professions and eras, they all shared the name Kenner, which has its roots in the German language and a connection to the pursuit of knowledge and education.
People
Kenner + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenner 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
Kenner: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenner?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 511 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenner 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 670,752 US residents.
Is Kenner a common name?
We classify Kenner as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 531 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenner most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenner was 2015, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenner is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kenner in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 596 people with the name Kenner, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,169 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 Kenner 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 Kenner?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenner leans strongly male. 552 people counted with this name were male (92.2%), compared with 47 female bearers (7.8%). 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 Kenner?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenner is Hispanic at 45.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.3%) and Black (9.1%). 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 Kenner most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Kenner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.0% (268 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 Kenner in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenner a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kenner 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 Kenner still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenner 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 Kenner 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 share the name Kenner?
Find out how many people have the name Kenner on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.