Kevin
Feminine · “gentle”
Kevin is given to boys far more often — 1,184,507 boys against 5,337 girls since 1880. See Kevin as a boy name
Kevin was the first Irish name America took in real numbers, and it opened the door for everything after it — Ryan, Sean, Brendan, Erin, Casey. Behind it is caomh, the Irish word for gentle or kind, with the affectionate ending -in: the gentle little one, which is an unusual thing for a men's name to say.
How old is the name Kevin?
Kevin first appears in US birth records in 1938 — 87 years ago. The typical Kevin alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 5,000 people named Kevin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kevin most popular?
Kevin peaked in 1966, reaching #910 nationally. See the whole 1966 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Caoimhín to Kevin
The story of Kevin
Kevin of Glendalough founded a monastery in a valley in Wicklow in the sixth century and is one of Ireland's principal saints; the stories about him involve a great deal of standing still in cold water and a blackbird nesting in his outstretched hand. The name stayed inside Ireland for a very long time and crossed to America with Irish emigration, becoming widely used in the middle of the last century — the first Gaelic name to do so on that scale, and the reason the rest followed.
Meaning
gentle; kindly
Irish caomh means gentle, kind or beloved, and Caoimhin adds the diminutive -in, giving something like the gentle one. The derivation is well attested. It is worth noticing what the name does not say: most early medieval men's names across Europe are about battle, spears, rule or wolves, and a name meaning gentle stands out sharply against that background.
How the name formed
- Caoimhín
- Kevin
Related forms: Caoimhín · Kévin · Cefin
Pronouncing Kevin
KEV-in
KEV-in, two syllables, stress at the front. Irish Caoimhin is closer to KWEE-veen or KEE-veen depending on the dialect, with the mh sounded as a v — so the English name is a considerable simplification of the original rather than a spelling of it.
Nicknames for Kevin
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
- 1938
- Most girls named
- 1986146 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #910reached in 1966
- Change vs 2020
- −37.5%5 in 2024, from 8
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.
Kevin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Caoimhín in Irish — same name
- Kévin in French — same name
- Cefin in Welsh — same name
Kevins among us
people named Kevin 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
Kevin 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
- The meaning is gentle, which almost no other men's name of its age can say.
- Kev is a clean short form that works in any English-speaking country.
- The saint behind it is a real and well-documented figure with a place still attached to him.
- It is said the same way everywhere and has essentially one spelling.
- A very great many people carry it, so a Kevin will rarely be the only one in a room over a lifetime.
- In France and Germany the name arrived later and carries class associations it does not carry here, which matters if the family moves.
- It is strongly associated with one American generation and dates a person fairly closely.
- This spelling is recorded for girls too, though so rarely that a girl named Kevin will be read as a boy on every form.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kevin to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Kevin? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kevin
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kevins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,000 people named Kevin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kevin in 2025?
- Kevin is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kevin with classmates?
- Kevin 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 Kevin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kevin and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle