Kendahl
Feminine
Kendahl is given to both — 662 girls and 49 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Kendahl adds a silent letter to an English place name and the record holds it for sons as well as daughters. The second half of the place name is one of four English words for a valley, and which one a place uses tells you who named it.
How old is the name Kendahl?
Kendahl first appears in US birth records in 1965 — 60 years ago. The typical Kendahl alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 700 people named Kendahl are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kendahl most popular?
Kendahl peaked in 2000, reaching #3886 nationally. See the whole 2000 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kendahl
English has four common words for a valley and each one is a different language arriving. Dale is Norse, and it clusters exactly where Scandinavian settlement was heaviest — the Yorkshire dales, Kendal, Borrowdale. Combe is Brittonic, the same word as Welsh cwm, and it survives in the south-west where British speech held out longest: Ilfracombe, Widecombe. Glen is Gaelic, and it maps Scotland and Ireland. And dean or den is the native English word, quieter than the others, in Rottingdean and Hazeldean. A map of which valley word a place uses is a map of who was there when the naming happened, and the boundaries are sharp enough to be drawn.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The place name joins a river name to the Norse word for a valley. This spelling adds an h that appears in no form of it, and there is no evidence that any American family had the town in mind.
Pronouncing Kendahl
KEN-dul
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The added h is completely silent and changes nothing about how the second syllable is said.
Nicknames for Kendahl
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1965
- Most girls named
- 200840 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3886reached in 2000
- Change vs 2020
- +60.0%8 in 2021, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kendahls among us
people named Kendahl are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Kendahl sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Ken detaches cleanly and works for a child of either sex.
- Two syllables with front stress is the plainest shape English has.
- It names a real place with a documented meaning.
- Kendall, Kendal and Kendell are all recorded and will be written for it.
- The added letter is silent, so the spelling must be given aloud every time.
- The record holds it for sons as well, so it signals nothing about sex.
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Kendahl
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kendahls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Kendahl are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kendahl in 2025?
- Kendahl is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kendahl with classmates?
- Kendahl will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kendahl? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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