Kenshawn
A name of uncertain origin, possibly combining the name "Ken" with "Shawn".
Name Census estimates that about 73 living Americans carry the first name Kenshawn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kenshawn today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenshawn births was 1998 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenshawn. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kenshawn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
73
~ 1 in 4,695,265 Americans
Peak year
1998
10 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2006 SSA rank
#13,093
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Kenshawn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenshawn from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 39 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Kenshawn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kenshawn 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 Kenshawn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenshawn
The name Kenshawn is a modern American invention that surfaced in the late 20th century. It does not have any definitive historical roots or origins in a particular language or culture. The name is likely a blend of the popular names Kenneth and Shawn, both of which have separate etymological backgrounds.
Kenneth is derived from the Gaelic names Cainnech or Cináed, which are pet forms of the Celtic name Culennauc. This name is composed of the elements "cu" meaning hound and "lennauc" meaning bright or brilliant. It was originally a nickname before becoming a given name. The name gained popularity due to St. Kenneth, a 6th-century missionary who helped establish Christianity in Scotland.
Shawn, on the other other hand, is an anglicized form of the Irish name Seán or Séan, which is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yohanan or Yochanan. This name means "God is gracious" or "Yahweh is merciful." It was popularized by early Christian missionaries and saints such as St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.
While there are no definitive historical references or records of the name Kenshawn itself, it is possible to find a few notable individuals who have borne this name in modern times. One example is Kenshawn Warren, a former American football defensive back who played for the University of Arkansas from 2004 to 2007. Another is Kenshawn McGowen, an American basketball player who played for the University of North Carolina at Asheville from 2015 to 2019.
Other individuals with the name Kenshawn include Kenshawn Bullock, an American football defensive back who played for the University of Florida from 2010 to 2013, and Kenshawn Maxwell, an American basketball player who played for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro from 2014 to 2018. Lastly, there is Kenshawn Terry, an American football wide receiver who played for the University of South Carolina from 2011 to 2014.
People
Kenshawn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenshawn 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
Kenshawn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenshawn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 73 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenshawn 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 4,695,265 US residents.
Is Kenshawn a common name?
We classify Kenshawn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 75 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenshawn most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenshawn was 1998, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenshawn is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kenshawn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenshawn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kenshawn 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 Kenshawn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenshawn 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 Kenshawn 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Kenshawn as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Kenshawn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.