boy's name
Kent
KENT
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 70,273
Scotland
#274
1979 births
Kent is the oldest recorded place name in England — Cantium appears in Greek writing before the Roman invasion, and its meaning was already uncertain to the Romans who wrote it down. It holds 69,638 lifetime births in our records.
- Kent is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1962, when 2,592 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 32,826 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1885.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kent over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 |
| 1890s | 31 |
| 1900s | 55 |
| 1910s | 388 |
| 1920s | 1,087 |
| 1930s | 3,123 |
| 1940s | 8,351 |
| 1950s | 18,730 |
| 1960s | 19,333 |
| 1970s | 6,754 |
| 1980s | 5,020 |
| 1990s | 2,902 |
| 2000s | 1,615 |
| 2010s | 1,425 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 674 |
What Kent means
Kent has no securely known meaning. The Celtic Cantium is variously read as a rim, an edge or a coastal district, and none of the proposals has been established.
Where Kent comes from
Kent is the English county, from the Celtic Cantium — a name recorded by Greek geographers in the fourth century BC, which makes it the earliest place name in England still in use. Its meaning was already opaque by Roman times; a rim or border and a coastal district are the standard proposals. Caesar names the Cantiaci. Kent as a given name is nineteenth-century American, and Clark Kent's surname is the more famous use of the word today.
Kent in use
Kent peaked in the United States in 1962, when 2,592 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 1,658th in the United States on 101 births, across 70,273 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1880.
How popular is Kent?
In 2025, Kent was given to 101 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Kent 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 Kent
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kent also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kent over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Kent 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.
- Kentaro
Sibling names for Kent
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kent — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kent
What does the name Kent mean?
Not known. A rim or border and a coastal district are proposed for the Celtic Cantium.
Is Kent really the oldest English place name?
It is the earliest still in use — Greek geographers record Cantium in the fourth century BC.
Did the Romans know what it meant?
Apparently not. It was already opaque when they wrote it down.
How popular is Kent?
1658th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Kent a girl's or a boy's name?
Kent is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Kent?
Kent has 1 syllable.
Is Kent a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kent currently ranks #1,658 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.