# Kennedy (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/kennedy/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | “head”, “ugly”, “refuse”, “reject” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɛnədi/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Cannedy, Kennady |
| US babies named this | 101,120 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 7,457 / 93,663 (93% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,309, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Irish Ó Cinnéidigh (ceann (“head”) + éidigh (“ugly”)) or Scottish Gaelic Ceannaideach (ceann (“head”) + aideach (“ugly”). Compare Kenneth and Irish eitigh (“refuse, reject”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3,248 | 91 |
| 2012 | 3,389 | 84 |
| 2013 | 3,961 | 65 |
| 2014 | 4,498 | 54 |
| 2015 | 4,523 | 58 |
| 2016 | 4,341 | 59 |
| 2017 | 4,162 | 58 |
| 2018 | 3,946 | 59 |
| 2019 | 3,692 | 68 |
| 2020 | 3,361 | 72 |
| 2021 | 3,443 | 70 |
| 2022 | 3,077 | 74 |
| 2023 | 3,075 | 72 |
| 2024 | 2,890 | 89 |
| 2025 | 2,933 | 85 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 125 | 1,355 |
| 2012 | 164 | 1,122 |
| 2013 | 154 | 1,172 |
| 2014 | 158 | 1,182 |
| 2015 | 165 | 1,143 |
| 2016 | 171 | 1,132 |
| 2017 | 140 | 1,296 |
| 2018 | 126 | 1,398 |
| 2019 | 135 | 1,338 |
| 2020 | 142 | 1,286 |
| 2021 | 104 | 1,625 |
| 2022 | 104 | 1,660 |
| 2023 | 105 | 1,644 |
| 2024 | 96 | 1,727 |
| 2025 | 86 | 1,842 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 16 | 1,729 |
| 2012 | 15 | 1,893 |
| 2013 | 30 | 1,148 |
| 2014 | 21 | 1,456 |
| 2015 | 28 | 1,204 |
| 2016 | 28 | 1,211 |
| 2017 | 20 | 1,568 |
| 2018 | 27 | 1,234 |
| 2019 | 20 | 1,497 |
| 2020 | 34 | 992 |
| 2021 | 24 | 1,311 |
| 2022 | 23 | 1,383 |
| 2023 | 18 | 1,640 |
| 2024 | 22 | 1,449 |
| 2025 | 19 | 1,584 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 1,600 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2,458 |
| 2013 | 5 | 3,315 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 10 | 2,150 |
| 2016 | 9 | 2,335 |
| 2017 | 19 | 1,339 |
| 2018 | 9 | 2,259 |
| 2019 | 7 | 2,728 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,404 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3,451 |
| 2022 | 7 | 2,755 |
| 2023 | 10 | 2,160 |
| 2024 | 10 | 2,263 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4,275 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: كِينِيدِي, كِينِيدِي
- Bulgarian: Ке́неди
- Chinese: 肯尼迪, 甘迺迪
- Hindi: कैनेडी
- Japanese: ケネディ
- Korean: 케네디
- Russian: Ке́ннеди
- Ukrainian: Ке́ннеді

## People named Kennedy

- Kennedy McMann, American actress
- Kennedy Blades, American wrestler (born 2003)
- Kennedy McKinney, boxer
- John Kennedy, Brazilian footballer
- Kennedy Goss, Canadian swimmer
- Kennedy Summers, American model (born 1987)
- Kennedy Chandler, American basketball player (born 2002)
- Kennedy Leigh, American pornographic actress
- Kennedy Fuller, American association football player
- Brian Kennedy, American musician, songwriter and record producer
- Kennedy Winston, American professional basketball player
- Kennedy Ochieng, Athletics competitor from Kenya

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.