Kenzo
Meaning
kanji-dependent: ken 'humble', 'strong' or 'wise' + zo 'three'; other combinations form it
The story
Kenzo carries its meaning the Japanese way, by the kanji: Behind the Name reads ken as humble, healthy and strong, or wise, joined to zo, three, and notes that other combinations form the name too. Its named bearer is Kenzo Takada, the Japanese-French designer whose 1970 fashion house, the source says, is probably why France took the name up; France ranked it 197th in 2024. The American record keeps a small secret in the old buckets: 23 boys named Kenzo in the 1920s, then five quiet decades before the modern wave. That wave is steep: 168 boys in the 2000s, 1,399 in the 2010s, and already 3,055 this decade, more than double the full previous total with years to run. Brazil's census shows the same two-wave shape, a 1940s row and a modern climb, 1,677 residents with a median age of ten. Two continents, one comeback.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kenzo peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,677 people · the #5,791 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 125,000 · median age 10
Among people named Kenzo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 224 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Kenzo
Most people given the name Kenzo 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 Kenzo deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kenzo 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 Kenzo fits with your family’s names and surname.
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