girl's name
Kendra
KEN-druh
- Origin American
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 106,855
the United States
#849
2025 births
Kendra has no settled origin — a feminine of Kenneth, a Welsh compound meaning greatest champion, and an invention from Ken plus a fashionable ending are all proposed, and none is established. We record 101,346 lifetime births for it, strongest in the United States.
- Kendra is a name of American origin.
- Peaked in 1987, when 3,863 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 10,361 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1936.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kendra over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 33 |
| 1940s | 523 |
| 1950s | 1,568 |
| 1960s | 5,334 |
| 1970s | 15,752 |
| 1980s | 24,556 |
| 1990s | 24,035 |
| 2000s | 14,258 |
| 2010s | 10,194 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,535 |
What Kendra means
Kendra has no securely known meaning. Knowledge, greatest champion and a feminine of Kenneth are all offered, and the sources disagree with each other on all three.
Where Kendra comes from
Kendra's derivation is genuinely open. It has been read as a feminine of Kenneth, from the Gaelic Cinaed, born of fire; as the Welsh Cynwrig or a compound of cyn, chief, with a second element read as champion; and as a twentieth-century American coinage joining Ken to the -dra of Sandra and Deidra. The last is the most likely given its appearance in the record: our data carries it only from the 1940s, with almost all volume after 1960.
Kendra in use
Kendra peaked in the United States in 1987, when 3,863 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in four of the seven markets we track — 753rd in Canada, 849th in the United States on 320 births, 1246th in England and Wales on 26 and 1658th in France on 20 — across 106,855 lifetime births. Its late appearance in the record is the strongest argument that it was coined rather than inherited.
How popular is Kendra?
In 2025, Kendra was given to 320 babies in the United States, ranking #849 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kendra 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 Kendra
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kendra also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kendra over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Kendra
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Kendra 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.
Sibling names for Kendra
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kendra — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kendra
What does the name Kendra mean?
Nothing established. A feminine of Kenneth, a Welsh compound and a modern coinage are all proposed.
Is Kendra a Welsh name?
It is often claimed as one, but its late appearance in the record argues against inheritance.
When did Kendra appear?
Our data carries it only from the 1940s, with almost all volume after 1960.
How popular is Kendra?
849th in the United States, down from a 1987 peak of 3,863 births.
Is Kendra a girl's or a boy's name?
Kendra is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Kendra?
Kendra has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Kendra?
Kendra is usually shortened to Ken and Kenny.
Is Kendra a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kendra currently ranks #753 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.