Kevin

What Kevin means

Means “dear birth/person”

Name of a seventh-century Irish saint, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “dear birth/person”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Kevin” (revision 94578879), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Kevin?

US: Falling: down from #79 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #175 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1965, when 28,177 boys got the name (#13 that year). First in the US records in 1912.

How common

• About 1 in 1,049 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,732 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,964 baby boys 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 VT (4.95 per 1,000 boys), MD (2.18 per 1,000 boys), DC (1.98 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Kevin is #221 in the US and #292 in England & Wales (2025).

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 Kevin were boys.

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

• Gavin1,125 US · 33 E&W
• Kevon41 US
• Kavon35 US
• Kavin27 US · 8 E&W
• Kaven23 US
• Keyvon16 US
• Kavan7 US · 8 E&W
• Keven15 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.

Nicknames

• Kev
• Kevo
• Kevinito
• Kevvy
• Kevy

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Kevin

Boys

• Shane#635“God is gracious”^*
• Ryan#99Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 29,905 babies; 3,532 in 2025
• Sean#489“God is gracious”^*
• Shawn#681“God is gracious”^*
• Brian#339Same root as Brendan, meaning “prince, king”^*
• Trevor#679Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1998, with 6,598 babies; 400 in 2025

For a sister

• Jennifer#586Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1972, with 63,600 babies; 501 in 2025
• Megan#887Diminutive of Margaret, meaning “pearl”^*
• Jenna#679Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 6,436 babies; 418 in 2025
• Bridget#724Editor’s note Down from #534 in 2015 to #724 in 2025 in the US
• Morgan#312Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #121 in 2015, #312 in 2025
• Kaitlyn#799Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #197 in 2015, #799 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Kevin’s. Rank is US 2025.