Kennedi
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Meaning
modern feminine spelling of Kennedy, from Irish Ó Cinnéidigh ("armoured head" or "misshapen head")
The story
Kennedi is Kennedy respelled for a daughter, and the timing in our records is precise: a first handful of girls in the 1980s, about 960 in the 1990s, the decade the MTV host known simply as Kennedy was on the air, which Behind the Name credits with popularizing the name for girls. The 2000s brought about 4,500, the 2010s about 7,100, and about 3,000 have arrived so far this decade. Behind it all sits one of Ireland's oldest names: the surname O Cinneidigh, from Cennetig, an Old Irish byname meaning armoured head or misshapen head, take your pick, borne by the father of the high king Brian Boru. The -i ending does what modern American spelling does best, marking the name clearly for a girl while the surname sound keeps its stride.
How popular is Kennedi around the world?
In the United States, 3,004 babies were named Kennedi between 2020 and 2025.
Kennedi is on the official records of the United States and Brazil.
United States
1 in 7,300
In the United States, 3,004 babies were named Kennedi between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kennedi peaked in the 2010s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 500,000
At the 2022 census, 310 people in Brazil were named Kennedi, ranked 18,629th, with a median age of 21.
Among people named Kennedi living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 20 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Canada
last on record 2023
Kennedi is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
last on record 2020
Kennedi is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
last on record 2007
Kennedi is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2015
Kennedi is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Kennedi
Most people given the name Kennedi in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Kennedi deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kennedi truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Kennedi fits with your family’s names and surname.
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