Kenzie
A diminutive form of the Scottish surname McKenzie, meaning "son of Kenneth".
Name Census estimates that about 21,186 living Americans carry the first name Kenzie. It is a predominantly female name (97.8% of registrations). The average person named Kenzie today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenzie births was 2014 (1,329 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenzie. 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 Kenzie with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kenzie is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 483 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Kenzie is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
21K
~ 1 in 16,178 Americans
Peak year
2014
1,329 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#628
Tracked since 1918
Census
Kenzie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 18,535 people with the first name Kenzie, which placed it at #1,676 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
#1,676
National first-name rank
People counted
19K
18,535 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenzie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenzie is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Kenzie 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 Kenzie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.6% · 14,569
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 1,331
- Two or more races5.8% · 1,074
- Black or African American5.5% · 1,026
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 358
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 177
Gender
Gender distribution for Kenzie
Kenzie leans heavily female at 97.8% of total registrations, but 483 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kenzie as a male name
- Ranked #10,394 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (18 births)
Kenzie as a female name
- Ranked #628 in 2024
- 470 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (1,329 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenzie leans strongly female. 18,118 people counted with this name were female (97.7%), compared with 421 male bearers (2.3%).
Popularity
Kenzie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenzie from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 10,378 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kenzie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kenzie 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 Kenzie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kenzies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kenzie, while Wyoming, District of Columbia, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 387 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenzie
The name Kenzie originates from the Scottish Gaelic language and culture, with its roots traced back to the medieval period. It is a diminutive form of the name Mackenzie, which itself is derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "cuinnidh" meaning "born of fire" or "fair bright one."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Mackenzie date back to the 13th century, when it was used as a clan surname in the Scottish Highlands. The Mackenzie clan was one of the most powerful and influential in the region, with their territory centered around the area of Ross-shire.
While the name Kenzie itself does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Scottish origins are deeply rooted in the rich cultural heritage of the Gaelic-speaking people.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Kenzie was Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, a Scottish nobleman who lived in the 16th century and played a significant role in the political and military affairs of his time. He was known for his bravery and loyalty to the Scottish Crown.
Another prominent figure associated with the name was Kenzie Walker, an American poet and writer who lived from 1845 to 1923. She was a member of the Chicago Literary Club and published several volumes of poetry, including "Lyrics of Leisure" and "Songs of the Marshes."
In the realm of sports, Kenzie Kent was a Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the early 20th century. Born in 1892, he played for several teams in the National Hockey Association and was known for his skilled and aggressive style of play.
In more recent times, Kenzie Dalton was an American actress and singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. She appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films, showcasing her talents as a versatile performer.
Another notable individual with the name Kenzie was Sir Kenzie Talmadge Sampson, a British diplomat and politician who lived from 1908 to 1988. He served as the Governor of Cyprus and played a crucial role in the island's transition to independence from British rule.
While the name Kenzie has its roots in Scottish Gaelic culture, it has since gained popularity across various regions and communities, transcending its historical origins and becoming a beloved name choice for many families around the world.
People
Kenzie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenzie 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
Kenzie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenzie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21,186 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenzie 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 16,178 US residents.
Is Kenzie a common name?
We classify Kenzie as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21,494 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenzie most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenzie was 2014, when 1,329 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenzie is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kenzie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 18,535 people with the name Kenzie, or 6.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,676 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 Kenzie 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 Kenzie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenzie leans strongly female. 18,118 people counted with this name were female (97.7%), compared with 421 male bearers (2.3%). 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 Kenzie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenzie is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Kenzie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kenzie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.6% (14,569 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 Kenzie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenzie a female name?
Yes, 97.8% of people registered as Kenzie 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 Kenzie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenzie 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 Kenzie 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 Kenzie as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.