BabyNamesMap

Baby names › Boys

Kenji

Meaning not yet sourced

Editor’s note Up from #1,406 in 2015 to #943 in 2025 in the US

CommonRare
Rank 2015: #1,406, 2016: #1,399, 2017: #1,314, 2018: #1,294, 2019: #1,218, 2020: #910, 2021: #845, 2022: #754, 2023: #827, 2024: #854, 2025: #9431 in 6,860 boys in the US, 2025#943 · rising · was #1,406 in 2015
CommonRare
Rank 2015: #3,004, 2016: #2,175, 2017: #4,812, 2018: #3,412, 2019: #2,488, 2020: #1,723, 2021: #2,125, 2022: #1,534, 2023: #1,907, 2024: #2,444, 2025: #2,2691 in 27,194 boys in E&W, 2025#2,269 · rising · was #3,004 in 2015

Boy’s name · Japanese

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What Kenji means

Meaning not yet sourced. Wiktionary has no word-by-word meaning for Kenji yet, and we don’t write our own.

Editor’s note Up from #1,406 in 2015 to #943 in 2025 in the US Worked out from the official US and England & Wales counts, not a meaning.

How popular is Kenji?

US 2025
#943
249 babies
▼ 89 vs 2024
England & Wales 2025
#2269
10 babies
▲ 175 vs 2024
Scotland
–
Not listed

US: Rising: up from #1406 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #3004 in 2015.

00.518801920196020002025
US, 1880–2025England & Wales, 1996–2025Babies per 1,000 boys born. Dot: biggest US share (2022)

Biggest US share so far: 2022, when 337 boys got the name (#754 that year). First in the US records in 1913.

How common

  • About 1 in 6,860 baby boys in the US in 2025
  • About 1 in 27,194 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in HI (2.74 per 1,000 boys), NV (0.53 per 1,000 boys), WI (0.43 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

AK
ME
WI
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
FewerMore · grey: under 5 babies, not listed

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Kenji is #943 in the US and #2269 in England & Wales (2025).

Rank 2025BabiesHow commonRank 2015
US#9432491 in 6,860#1406
England & Wales#2269101 in 27,194#3004
Scotland––––

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Kenji were boys.

GirlsBoys
US 20250249
England & Wales 2025010
US all years since 1880335,624
England & Wales since 19960160

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

If you like Kenji

Boys

  • Kenzo#628Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,740 in 2015, #628 in 2025
  • Callum#118Variant of Calum, meaning “dove”
  • Enzo#72“home + ruler”
  • Luka#85Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #85 vs #261 in 2025
  • Santiago#26Spanish form of James, meaning “May He Heel”
  • Elias#13Form of Elijah, meaning “Yahweh is my god”

For a sister

  • Naomi#47“my pleasantness”
  • Kiyomi#764Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #3,092 in 2015, #764 in 2025
  • Aya#644Editor’s note Up from #892 in 2015 to #644 in 2025 in the US
  • Yuna#950Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1983, with 5 babies
  • Akira#983Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1973, with 6 babies
  • Kaylani#185Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,054 in 2015, #185 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Japanese where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Kenji’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.

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