Kennis
Masculine
Kennis is given to both — 560 boys and 76 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Kennis is a two-syllable name close to Kenneth and Dennis, given mostly to boys with a real minority of girls. In Dutch, the same word means knowledge.
How old is the name Kennis?
Kennis first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Kennis alive today was born around 1968, making them about 57 years old. About 400 people named Kennis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kennis most popular?
Kennis peaked in 1961, reaching #2070 nationally. See the whole 1961 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kennis
In Dutch, kennis is knowledge, from the same root as the English verb to ken and the Scots phrase to know and ken, and a Dutch school talks of kennis the way an English one talks of learning. An American Kennis has no known tie to it. It most likely grew from Kenneth or Dennis, and the likeness to a word for knowledge is simply a happy accident.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source records the origin of Kennis as an American name. It may be a reshaping of Kenneth or Dennis, and no record says which. The Dutch word kennis, knowledge, is a coincidence.
Pronouncing Kennis
KEN-is
Two syllables, stressed on the first, rhyming with Dennis.
Nicknames for Kennis
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
- 1917
- Most boys named
- 196116 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2070reached in 1961
- Change vs 2018
- −14.3%6 in 2024, from 7
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.
Kenniss among us
people named Kennis 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
Kennis 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
- It is easy to say and sounds familiar.
- Ken and Kenny give two short forms.
- People will write Kenneth or Dennis.
- Most children given it are boys; a girl named Kennis may be taken for a boy on paper.
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Kennis
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Kenniss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Kennis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kennis in 2025?
- Kennis is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Kennis with classmates?
- Kennis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Kenneth#294 · Kevin#221 · Kyle#508 · Keith#800 · Karl#1585 · Kaleb#295 · Kurt#2258 · Kelly#1867
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kennis? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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