Kennedy

What Kennedy means

Means “head + ugly”

Borrowed from Irish Ó Cinnéidigh (ceann (“head”) +‎ éidigh (“ugly”)) or Scottish Gaelic Ceannaideach (ceann (“head”) +‎ aideach (“ugly”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Kennedy” (revision 94540761), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Kennedy?

US: Falling: down from #58 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #1204 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2015, when 4,523 girls got the name (#58 that year). First in the US records in 1957.

How common

• About 1 in 548 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 13,331 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 5,964 baby girls in Scotland 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 WY (9.86 per 1,000 girls), NH (7.11 per 1,000 girls), DE (5.32 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Kennedy is #85 in the US and #1584 in England & Wales (2025).

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 97.2% of US babies named Kennedy were girls.

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

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Kennedi398 US
• Kennadi30 US
• Kynnedi26 US
• Kenedi24 US
• Kennady19 US
• Kennidi9 US
• Kennedii7 US
• Kennedee5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Kennedy

Girls

• Maddison#438Editor’s note Down from #310 in 2015 to #438 in 2025 in the US
• Riley#48“rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Reagan#248“descendant of Riagán”^*
• Rylie#476Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #476 vs #1,454 in 2025
• Emerson#122Editor’s note Used for both: 62% of US babies named Emerson in 2025 were girls
• Delaney#242“from the alder grove”^*

For a brother

• Avery#291Editor’s note Down from #188 in 2015 to #291 in 2025 in the US
• Kyler#404“archer”^*
• Lane#250Editor’s note Up from #297 in 2015 to #250 in 2025 in the US
• Layne#662Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #662 vs #1,798 in 2025
• Zane#324Variant of Zayn, meaning “beauty”^*
• Jax#342Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1995, with 5 babies

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Kennedy’s. Rank is US 2025.