boy's name
Ken
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 35,203
Scotland
#339
1986 births
Ken is a boy's name with 1 syllable. In 2025 it was given to 36 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
- Peaked in 1960, when 1,780 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 92,098 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1900.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Ken over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 7 |
| 1910s | 140 |
| 1920s | 380 |
| 1930s | 1,667 |
| 1940s | 4,874 |
| 1950s | 7,111 |
| 1960s | 11,913 |
| 1970s | 2,253 |
| 1980s | 1,231 |
| 1990s | 1,196 |
| 2000s | 1,228 |
| 2010s | 776 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 267 |
How popular is Ken?
In 2025, Ken was given to 36 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Ken is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Ken
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ken also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ken over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ken in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Kenric
Sibling names for Ken
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ken — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ken
How popular is the name Ken?
In 2025, Ken was given to 36 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Ken a girl's or a boy's name?
Ken is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ken?
Ken has 1 syllable.
When was Ken most popular?
Ken peaked in 1960, when 1,780 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Ken a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ken currently ranks #1,636 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.