Kensly
A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the king's meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 226 living Americans carry the first name Kensly. It is a predominantly female name (97.8% of registrations). The average person named Kensly today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kensly births was 2018 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kensly. 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
226
~ 1 in 1,516,612 Americans
Peak year
2018
28 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2002 SSA rank
#9,226
Tracked since 2002
Census
Kensly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 261 people with the first name Kensly, which placed it at #32,310 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
#32,310
National first-name rank
People counted
261
261 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kensly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kensly is White at 44.8%. The next largest groups are Black (38.7%) and Hispanic (12.3%). 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 Kensly 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 Kensly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.8% · 117
- Black or African American38.7% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino12.3% · 32
- Two or more races2.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Kensly
Kensly leans heavily female at 97.8% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kensly as a male name
- Ranked #11,653 in 2002
- 5 male births in 2002
- Peak: 2002 (5 births)
Kensly as a female name
- Ranked #9,226 in 2024
- 11 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (28 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kensly on both sides of the split. Of the 263 people counted with this name, 64 were male (24.3%) and 199 were female (75.7%).
Popularity
Kensly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kensly from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 128 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kensly remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kensly 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 Kensly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kenslys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kensly
The name Kensly is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the late 20th century. It does not appear to have any direct linguistic roots or historical origins. Instead, it seems to be a creatively constructed name, possibly inspired by the combination of other names or elements.
One possible derivation is that Kensly is a blend of the names Kenneth and Wesley. Kenneth is an ancient Scottish name derived from the Gaelic "Cináed," meaning "born of fire" or "handsome." Wesley, on the other hand, is an English surname turned given name, originating from a place name meaning "west meadow."
Another potential influence could be the name Kent, an English name derived from the county of Kent, which has roots in the Old English word "Cantware," referring to the inhabitants of the area. The suffix "-ly" may have been added to create a more unique and melodic sound.
While Kensly does not have a long historical lineage, it has gained some popularity in recent decades. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Kensly Jean Ramos, a Venezuelan actress born in 1985. Another notable figure is Kensly Michaux, a Haitian-American journalist and author who has written extensively about diaspora communities.
In the realm of sports, Kensly Esprit is a professional basketball player from the Dominican Republic, born in 1997. Kensly Reviere is a Haitian-American football player who played for the University of Central Florida in the early 2010s.
Lastly, Kensly Dextra is a Haitian-American author and social entrepreneur who has written about empowering marginalized communities and promoting education.
While Kensly may be a relatively new name without deep historical roots, it has gained traction and recognition in various fields, particularly among individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds. Its unique sound and potential blend of influences make it a distinctive and memorable choice.
People
Kensly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kensly 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
Kensly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kensly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 226 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kensly 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 1,516,612 US residents.
Is Kensly a common name?
We classify Kensly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 228 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kensly most popular?
The single biggest year for Kensly was 2018, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kensly is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kensly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 261 people with the name Kensly, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,310 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 Kensly 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 Kensly?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Kensly on both sides of the split. Of the 263 people counted with this name, 64 were male (24.3%) and 199 were female (75.7%). 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 Kensly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kensly is White at 44.8%. The next largest groups are Black (38.7%) and Hispanic (12.3%). 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 Kensly most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kensly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.8% (117 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 Kensly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kensly a female name?
Yes, 97.8% of people registered as Kensly 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 Kensly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kensly 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 Kensly 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 Kensly as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.