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Kennedy

Feminine · “From Gaelic ceann”

Kennedy is given to both — 93,663 girls and 7,457 boys since 1880. See Kennedy as a boy nameSee other names given to both

1957high 2015
#85 in the U.S.stepping back from its peak
falling2,933 girls in 2025

Kennedy began as an Irish family name, Ó Cinnéide, borne by a line long settled in County Tipperary, and it belongs to Scotland too, where Kennedys held land in Ayrshire for centuries. In the mouth it moves in three even beats with the weight up front — KEN-uh-dee — and it comes with ready-made short forms that have been in use as long as the surname has.

How old is the name Kennedy?

Kennedy first appears in US birth records in 1957 — 68 years ago. The typical Kennedy alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 93,000 people named Kennedy are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Kennedy most popular?

Kennedy peaked in 2014, reaching #54 nationally. Today it ranks #85, 31 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.

Compare this nameMore “K” names

Kennedy appears on these lists:

Works in Irish families too:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Kennedy

The name comes from the Irish surname Ó Cinnéide, "descendant of Cinnéidigh", a family associated with the Dál gCais of Munster and later with Ormond in what is now County Tipperary. A separate Kennedy line took root in southwest Scotland, holding lands in Ayrshire through the medieval period. Emigration carried both branches to North America, Australia and beyond, where Kennedy became one of the widely recognized Irish and Scottish surnames in English-speaking countries. Its use as a first name is a much later development, and in American records that use has been overwhelmingly for girls.

Meaningscholars disagree

From Gaelic ceann, "head", with a disputed second element

The first part, ceann or cinn, is agreed on: "head" or "chief". The second is not. Cinnéidigh is read either as éidigh, "ugly" or "grim", giving "ugly head", or as a word for helmet or armor, giving "helmeted head". Both readings are taken seriously by scholars of Irish names, and neither has pushed the other out.

How the name formed

  1. Cinnéidigh
  2. Ó Cinnéide
  3. Kennedy

Related forms: Ó Cinnéide · Ní Chinnéide · Cinnéidigh · Kennedi · Kenedy

Pronouncing Kennedy

KEN-uh-dee

Three syllables, stress on the first. The middle vowel is reduced almost to nothing, so it can sound like KEN-dee in quick speech. English speakers everywhere say it the same way.

Nicknames for Kennedy

High

KennyThe most common short form
KenClipped and informal
KennaUsed as a familiar form and also given as a full name on its own, for girls
KennieAn informal spelling of Kenny, more often written by family than used on paperwork
NediAn informal short form taken from the end of the name rather than the start
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

GIRLS NAMED · 1957–20255k2k04,5232,93319572025

US babies named Kennedy per year from 1957 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#541950s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1957
Most girls named
20154,523 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#54reached in 2014
Change vs 2024
+1.5%2,933 in 2025, from 2,890
Kennedy is past its biggest year. The count topped out at 4,523 girls in 2015 and has eased 35% since — the slow half of a naming cycle, where a name stays familiar while getting steadily less common. The move since 2024: up 1.5%.

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.

Kennedy in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Ó Cinnéide in Irish — related form
  • Ní Chinnéide in Irish — related form
  • Cinnéidigh in Irish — related form
  • Kennedi in English — spelling variant
  • Kenedy in English — spelling variant

Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.

Kennedys among us

93,000

people named Kennedy are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 girl in 548 born in 2025 was named Kennedy

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Kennedy

#85
Kennedy on the 2025 chart
#86
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kennedy went to 2,933 girls in 2025, but Kennedi and Kenedi are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 3,362, which makes it the 86th most-given girls’ name of the year.

and 1 rarer spelling.

About 1 girl in 478 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 548 for Kennedy itself.

Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Gina test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kennedy's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Gina climbed just as high around 1967, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Gina's path sketches the road Kennedy is walking now.

74%chance Kennedy will feel “very 2010s” by 2040
Kennedy, aligned on its peakGina· peak 1967not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-40 yrs+60 yrsGina · #1884Kennedy today
Kennedy today is about where Gina stood in 1978 — 11 years past a #54-sized peak. By 1993, Gina had settled around #214.
Ages quietlyvery of-its-momentDates fast

Kennedy is coming down from a big peak (#54 in 2014). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.

A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored

Where Kennedy is headed

19572030

US babies named Kennedy per year, 1957 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Kennedy should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady-9% by 2030projected around #105 in 2030

High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.

A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.

Kennedy beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Kennedy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Kennedythis name2,933#85Audrey2,919#86Addison2,971#84Maria2,887#87Lucia3,012#83

US girls given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • A spelling almost everyone in the US already knows how to write, because the surname is thoroughly familiar in English-speaking countries.
  • Comes with short forms that have long histories of their own: Kenny, Ken, Kenna.
  • Widely recognized while rarely duplicated — a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
  • A documented family name in both Ireland and Scotland stretching back through the medieval period.
What to consider
  • The surname carries a strong association with a prominent American political family. Expect the occasional question about it, particularly from older adults.
  • Kennedi and Kennedie are both in real use, so people may ask which spelling you mean, and some will write the wrong one.
  • Like other surnames used as first names, it can be read as a last name on forms and roll calls.
  • As a surname it travels to boys and girls alike, but US records show it given overwhelmingly to girls, so a boy named Kennedy will be the rarer case.

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Kennedy

Feminine · #85 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Kennedys are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 93,000 people named Kennedy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Kennedy?
Kennedy is the most-used spelling in US records — 2,933 of the 3,362 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Kennedi and Kenedi.
How popular is the name Kennedy in 2025?
Kennedy ranks #85 among US girl names in 2025, with 2,933 babies given the name.
How common is the name Kennedy?
About 1 in every 548 US girls born in 2025 was named Kennedy — 2,933 in all.
Will my child share the name Kennedy with classmates?
Kennedy will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Kennedy

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Audrey#86 · Addison#84 · Maria#87 · Lucia#83 · Josie#82 · Autumn#88 · Madeline#81 · Natalie#89

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kennedy? See the current top 100.

Choosing between Kennedy and another name?

See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.

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Kennedy vs AddisonKennedy vs AudreyKennedy vs KinsleyKennedy vs Maria

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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