How common is the surname Kent?

44,325 people in the United States had the surname Kent in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,965 Americans. It ranked 778th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Kent?

Rockwell Kent, American artist (1882-1971), followed by Stacey Kent.

Where is the surname Kent most common?

Wikidata records people named Kent in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.

Is the surname Kent getting more or less common?

More common. 42,597 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 44,325 in 2010, up 4.1%.

Is Kent also a first name?

Yes. Kent 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 Kent

A Latin place surname, carried by 44,325 people in the United States.

Pronounced /kɛnt/ 1 syllable 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). Kent is more common than 99.5% of them.

Origin

Latin origin

Inherited from Middle English Kent, from Old English Cent, from Latin Cantium, from Brythonic *Cantio (compare Old Irish céite (“gathering, folkmoot, hillock”)), from Proto-Celtic *kantos (“corner, rim”).

Kent is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 44,325 people named Kent in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 6,965 Americans. That is up 4.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 42,597.

#778

rank among US surnames

44,325

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.1%

change since 2000 (was #733)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#769	Knox	44,742	6,901
#770	Bullock	44,740	6,901
#771	Kerr	44,711	6,905
#772	Leach	44,581	6,925
#773	Meadows	44,500	6,938
#774	Orr	44,388	6,956
#776	Whitehead	44,373	6,958

Who is named Kent

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

84% of people named Kent identified as white (not Hispanic), 10% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 10%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Kents

20 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Rockwell Kent
American artist (1882-1971)
Stacey Kent
American recording artist; singer, born 1968
Joe Kent
American former federal intelligence official, political candidate, army officer, born 1980
Hlothhere of Kent
7th-century English monarch, 700–685
Charles Kent
British-American actor and film director (1852-1923)
Jennifer Kent
Australian actor, writer and director, born 1969
Rolfe Kent
British composer, born 1963
James Kent
American lawyer and legal scholar (1763-1847)
Jeff Kent
American baseball player (born 1968)
Joseph Kent
American politician (1779-1837)
Sarah Kent
Australian cyclist, born 1990
Arnold Kent
American actor (1899-1928)

Notable Kents come mostly from the United States (13), Australia (3) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Kent

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

Other Latin surnames

All 91 Latin surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Kent come from?: Inherited from Middle English Kent, from Old English Cent, from Latin Cantium, from Brythonic *Cantio (compare Old Irish céite (“gathering, folkmoot, hillock”)), from Proto-Celtic *kantos (“corner, rim”).
How common is the surname Kent?: 44,325 people in the United States had the surname Kent in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,965 Americans. It ranked 778th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Kent?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Kent identified as white (not Hispanic), and 10% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Kent?: Rockwell Kent, American artist (1882-1971), followed by Stacey Kent.
Where is the surname Kent most common?: Wikidata records people named Kent in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Kent?: Kent is /kɛnt/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Kent?: Kent is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Kent getting more or less common?: More common. 42,597 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 44,325 in 2010, up 4.1%.
Is Kent also a first name?: Yes. Kent 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.