How common is the surname Kenneth?

632 people in the United States had the surname Kenneth in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 488,521 Americans. It ranked 35,582nd of 162,253 surnames.

How do you pronounce Kenneth?

Kenneth is /ˈkɛn.əθ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Kenneth getting more or less common?

Less common. 652 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 632 in 2010, down 3.1%.

Is Kenneth also a first name?

Yes. Kenneth is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Kenneth

A Scottish Gaelic surname, carried by 632 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkɛn.əθ/ 2 syllables Soundex K530 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Kenneth is more common than 78.1% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

Anglicized form of two Goidelic names, Old Irish Cináed, the name of Scottish kings derived from Pictish *ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇ (Ciniod), and the saint's name Cainnech (literally “handsome”) (modern Scottish Gaelic Coinneach), as in the surname Mackenzie.

One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 632 people named Kenneth in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 488,521 Americans. That is down 3.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 652.

#35,582

rank among US surnames

632

people in 2010

0.2

per 100,000 Americans

-3.1%

change since 2000 (was #33,090)

Who is named Kenneth

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

56% of people named Kenneth identified as white (not Hispanic), 18% as Black (not Hispanic) and 15% as American Indian and Alaska Native.

White (not Hispanic) 56%
Black (not Hispanic) 18%
American Indian and Alaska Native 15%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 5.2%
Asian and Pacific Islander 4.8%
Two or more races 2.1%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Kenneth

Kenneth has the Soundex code K530, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code K530.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Kenneth come from?: Anglicized form of two Goidelic names, Old Irish Cináed, the name of Scottish kings derived from Pictish *ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇ (Ciniod), and the saint's name Cainnech (literally “handsome”) (modern Scottish Gaelic Coinneach), as in the surname Mackenzie.
How common is the surname Kenneth?: 632 people in the United States had the surname Kenneth in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 488,521 Americans. It ranked 35,582nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Kenneth?: In the 2010 Census, 56% of people named Kenneth identified as white (not Hispanic), and 18% as Black (not Hispanic).
How do you pronounce Kenneth?: Kenneth is /ˈkɛn.əθ/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Kenneth getting more or less common?: Less common. 652 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 632 in 2010, down 3.1%.
Is Kenneth also a first name?: Yes. Kenneth is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.