Kenta
Masculine
Kenta is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 711 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Japanese boys' names once numbered the sons. Ichiro is first son, Jiro second, Saburo third, Shiro fourth, Goro fifth, and Taro is the big son, the eldest. A family could name six children without choosing anything.
How old is the name Kenta?
Kenta first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Kenta alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 700 people named Kenta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kenta most popular?
Kenta peaked in 1977, reaching #1289 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 8,425 places below that high. See the whole 1977 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Kenta
The numbering system is old and was still ordinary in the early twentieth century. Ro is a suffix used in men's names, and the numerals ichi, ji, sabu, shi and go combine with it to give Ichiro, Jiro, Saburo, Shiro and Goro, first through fifth son. Taro, from ta, big, is the eldest, and Jiro and Taro together are the Japanese equivalent of naming a generic pair. The ta in Kenta belongs to the same old stock of men's name elements. All of this has receded sharply: -ro names are now read as old-fashioned, the numbering has largely disappeared, and the endings that dominate modern Japanese boys' naming are quite different. The parallel with Roman numbering, which gave Quintus, Sextus and Octavius, is exact in mechanism and entirely independent in origin.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Kenta is a Japanese name whose meaning depends on the characters used, which American records do not preserve. The ken element is commonly written with characters for healthy, strong or wise; the ta with the character for thick, big or plump, an old element in men's names. The American peak is 1977.
Pronouncing Kenta
KEN-tah
Two syllables. Japanese uses pitch rather than stress. The vowels are short and clear and the final a is fully sounded.
Nicknames for Kenta
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
- 1973
- Most boys named
- 197748 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1289reached in 1977
- Change vs 2022
- −36.4%7 in 2025, from 11
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.
Kenta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kenta in Japanese — same name
- Kentaro in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Kentas among us
people named Kenta are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Kenta
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Marlow test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kenta's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marlow climbed just as high around 1937, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marlow's path sketches the road Kenta is walking now.
Kenta sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Kenta beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kenta in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Ken works as a short form and is familiar in English.
- Five letters and two syllables, easy for English speakers.
- The sounds are all straightforward.
- The meaning depends on characters the record does not preserve.
- English speakers impose a stress pattern Japanese lacks.
- It is close to Kendall and Kenton in American ears.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Kenta
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kentas 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 Kenta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kenta in 2025?
- Kenta ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kenta?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Kenta — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kenta with classmates?
- Kenta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kenta
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kenta? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kenta and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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