Head to head · Boys' names
Bruce vs Kendrick
#536 vs #535 in 2025
Kendrick is a whisker ahead (#535 vs #536 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Kendrick is stepping back from its peak, Bruce is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Bruce has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Bruce leads 3 measures of 6; Kendrick leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Bruce #234, Kendrick — — Bruce higher
- 1890s: Bruce #216, Kendrick — — Bruce higher
- 1900s: Bruce #210, Kendrick — — Bruce higher
- 1910s: Bruce #174, Kendrick #1928 — Bruce higher
- 1920s: Bruce #131, Kendrick #2016 — Bruce higher
- 1930s: Bruce #83, Kendrick #2206 — Bruce higher
- 1940s: Bruce #42, Kendrick #1529 — Bruce higher
- 1950s: Bruce #31, Kendrick #1442 — Bruce higher
- 1960s: Bruce #50, Kendrick #956 — Bruce higher
- 1970s: Bruce #133, Kendrick #405 — Bruce higher
- 1980s: Bruce #184, Kendrick #355 — Bruce higher
- 1990s: Bruce #334, Kendrick #384 — Bruce higher
- 2000s: Bruce #465, Kendrick #511 — Bruce higher
- 2010s: Bruce #446, Kendrick #417 — Kendrick higher
- 2020s: Bruce #535, Kendrick #468 — Kendrick higher
Bruce stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Kendrick has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Bruce | Kendrick |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #234 | — |
| 1890s | #216 | — |
| 1900s | #210 | — |
| 1910s | #174 | #1928 |
| 1920s | #131 | #2016 |
| 1930s | #83 | #2206 |
| 1940s | #42 | #1529 |
| 1950s | #31 | #1442 |
| 1960s | #50 | #956 |
| 1970s | #133 | #405 |
| 1980s | #184 | #355 |
| 1990s | #334 | #384 |
| 2000s | #465 | #511 |
| 2010s | #446 | #417 |
| 2020s | #535 | #468 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Bruce
from Brix
The surname comes from a place in Normandy, most likely Brix in the Cotentin, and the reading is a location. Which place exactly is disputed; several candidates have been proposed and the documentary trail is thin. The name means where the family came from, which is what locative surnames do, and says nothing about anybody carrying it.
A Norman village giving its name to a family → Lands in England and then in Scotland → A Scottish king five generations later → Bruce as a first name in America from the nineteenth century
How it traveled
The spider is not in any medieval source. Robert the Bruce spent a winter in hiding after a series of defeats, that much is documented, and the story of him watching a spider fail repeatedly to attach a thread and then succeed, and taking the lesson, appears first in a work by Walter Scott in the early nineteenth century, drawing on an eighteenth-century account that attached the tale to somebody else entirely.
Kendrick
'royal power' or 'chief hero', depending on which root
Two serious readings compete, because two separate old names produced the same surname. From Old English Cyneric — cyne 'royal' plus ric 'power'. From Welsh Cynwrig — cyn 'chief, foremost' plus a second element usually read as 'hero' or 'man'. A third, quite different route exists in Scotland, where Kendrick comes from Mac Eanraig, 'son of Henry', and carries no 'royal power' sense at all.
Cyneric → Cynwrig → Kenrick → Kendrick
How it traveled
Kendrick is one of those names that reached us backwards: it was a family name for centuries before anyone thought to give it to a baby as a first name. Behind the surname sit the Old English Cyneric and the Welsh Cynwrig, both compounds built from words for rulership and pre-eminence, worn down over the medieval period into Kenrick and then Kendrick with the intrusive d that English so often slips into such clusters.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Bruce
BROOSS
One syllable, with the s voiceless at the end. The French place it comes from is said quite differently, and the name has been fully anglicized for eight hundred years, so the Norman pronunciation is of historical interest only.
- Brucie — The softened form, which is affectionate and slightly comic in British use.
- Bru — The name cut short, which is rare and shares a sound with a Scottish soft drink.
- B — The initial as a name, which suits a name already this short.
Kendrick
KEN-drik
Stress on the first syllable. Two syllables, no silent letters, and the same in British and American English. English speakers read it right on the first try.
- Ken — The standard short form, and a long-established given name in its own right; most strongly represented among older generations.
- Kenny — Informal and affectionate, also used as a full given name on its own.
- K — Initial-only nickname, common among American teenagers and in sports settings.
- Drick — Back-half clipping, informal and mostly used between friends.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Bruce if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesBruce is 1 syllable to Kendrick's 2
- a long American recordBruce was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Kendrick if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsKendrick is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itKendrick runs 2 syllables, Bruce 1
- a newer arrivalKendrick entered the US charts in 1912
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Bruce
Strengths
- One syllable, no ambiguity, and nothing at all to teach anybody.
- It carries a genuine and very substantial piece of history.
- It pairs cleanly with any longer middle name.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with one mid-century American generation.
- In Australia it was for a long time a joke name for a generic Australian man.
- The spider story is charming and is not history.
Kendrick
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds from parts English speakers already know — Ken and the -rick ending — so it rarely needs repeating.
- Comes with ready-made short forms, Ken and Kenny, both of which have stood alone as names for a very long time.
- A long unbroken record in American use, so it is familiar without being crowded — a Kendrick will likely be the only one in the class.
To consider
- It is closely tied in many people's minds to one very famous contemporary bearer, the rapper Kendrick Lamar. That association is likely to be the first thing said about the name for years to come — a plus for some families, a distraction for others.
- Kenrick, Kendric and Kendrix all exist, so expect the occasional dropped d or swapped ending in writing, even if the pronunciation never causes trouble.
- The natural short form, Ken, sits with an older generation and has its own separate baggage from the Barbie films. Kenny travels more easily with a child.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Bruce and Kendrick in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Bruce and Kendrick?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- Superhero names, secret identities included
- all guides
Where Bruce and Kendrick each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Bruce or Kendrick — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Bruce or Kendrick?
- Kendrick, in 2025: Kendrick ranked #535 with 559 babies; Bruce ranked #536 with 558 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Bruce or Kendrick?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Bruce moved down 38 places; Kendrick moved down 110 places.
- Which is the older name, Bruce or Kendrick?
- Bruce was already in use when US records began in 1880; Kendrick entered the US charts in 1912. On the American record, Bruce is the older name.
- How many people are named Bruce and Kendrick?
- About 256,000 people named Bruce are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 32,000 people named Kendrick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Bruces or Kendricks in the classroom?
- Bruce will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kendrick will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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