Kennedy
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Meaning
from Irish surname Ó Cinnéidigh and the byname Cennétig, possibly "armoured head" or "misshapen head"
The story
Kennedy moved from an Irish family name onto birth certificates. The surname is an Anglicized form of Ó Cinnéidigh, descendant of Cennétig. That older byname is less flattering and more uncertain than the familiar helmeted chief gloss: its elements may refer to an armoured head or to a misshapen head. In the United States, some families have chosen Kennedy in honor of President John F. Kennedy, while television host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery helped make the surname especially visible as a girl's name in the 1990s. The local curve begins its real climb in that decade, rises through the 2000s, reaches its highest band in the 2010s, and remains strong in the 2020s. No single bearer explains every choice. Kennedy's modern life comes from several layers meeting at once: Irish ancestry, an American political surname, and the wider rise of gender-flexible family names as given names.
How popular is Kennedy around the world?
In the United States, 19,416 babies were named Kennedy between 2020 and 2025.
Kennedy is on the official records of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, South Australia, Scotland, Brazil, Ireland, England and Wales, Mexico City, Argentina and Spain.
United States
1 in 1,100
In the United States, 19,416 babies were named Kennedy between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kennedy peaked in the 2010s. Kennedy went to 4,688 US babies in 2015 and 3,019 in 2025, 64% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 3,200
In Canada, 107 girls named Kennedy were born in 2024, the 281st most common name among girls that year.
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)
New Zealand
1 in 5,800
In New Zealand, 10 girls named Kennedy were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Kennedy in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 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
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 girls named Kennedy were registered in 2024, the 790th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Brazil
1 in 16,000
At the 2022 census, 12,629 people in Brazil were named Kennedy, ranked 1,451st, with a median age of 21.
Among people named Kennedy 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 774 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
Ireland
1 in 18,000
In Ireland, 3 girls named Kennedy were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 25,000
In England and Wales, 19 girls named Kennedy were born in 2025, ranked 1,584th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Mexico City City
1 in 39,000
In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Kennedy in 2022.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 170,000
In Argentina, 4 newborns were given the name Kennedy in 2024.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 420,000
In Spain, 107 residents are named Kennedy, ranked 7,861st among men, with a mean age of 42.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2023
Kennedy is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Montevideo City
last on record 1971
Kennedy is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Puerto Rico 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 France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. 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 Kennedy
Most people given the name Kennedy 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.
Keep exploring
The Kennedy deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kennedy 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 Kennedy fits with your family’s names and surname.
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