Kennedy

Used for both boys and girlsStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Kennedy: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Kennedy: Recorded every year since 1996, its highest recorded position is #351, and it stood at #885 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
68times a registrar ranked it
30years from first to last
#351highest recorded position
10groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#375
1997	#357
1998	#476
1999	#498
2000	#502
2001	#519
2002	#702
2003	#771
2004	#772
2005	#756
2006	#928
2007	#882
2008	#1206
2009	#1411
2010	#1731
2011	#1729
2012	#1893
2013	#1148
2014	#1456
2015	#1204
2016	#1211
2017	#1568
2018	#1234
2019	#1497
2020	#992
2021	#1311
2022	#1383
2023	#1640
2024	#1449

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

In 2024: #790 among girls in Scotland, #1449 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1996–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #375 among girls in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Highest recorded1998–2022
Highest recorded position: #351 among girls in Northern Ireland, in 1998 (recorded 1998–2022).
Northern Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #885 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Kennedy appears in 5 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 29 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 276 births with the name.

Kennedy across 5 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Kennedy's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#1765 (1996)	#1257 (1997)	#2263 (2024)	29 of 29	276 (1996–2024)	19 (2017)
England and Wales · Girls	#375 (1996)	#357 (1997)	#1449 (2024)	29 of 29	1,010 (1996–2024)	91 (1997)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#351 (1998)	#351 (1998)	#418 (2022)	3 of 25	9 (1998–2022)	3 (1998)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#393 (2002)	#393 (2002)	#713 (2016)	2 of 15	7 (2002–2016)	4 (2002)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#883 (2021)	#856 (2023)	#885 (2025)	4 of 5	12 (2021–2025)	3 (2021)

Kennedy by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Kennedy in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	30	4 of 10	8
2000sbusiest	105	10 of 10	11
2010s	101	10 of 10	10
2020s	40	5 of 10	8

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 11 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Kennedy appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1996 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #351 in Northern Ireland in 1998.

Kennedy's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#1449	22	High	Verified
2024	England and Wales	male	#2263	10	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#1640	18	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#2160	10	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#1383	23	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#2755	7	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#1311	24	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#3451	5	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#992	34	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#2404	8	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#1497	20	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#2728	7	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#1234	27	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#2259	9	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#1568	20	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1339	19	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#1211	28	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2335	9	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#1204	28	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2150	10	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#1456	21	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2079	10	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#1148	30	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#3315	5	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#1893	15	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2458	8	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#1729	16	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1600	14	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#1731	16	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#2036	10	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#1411	20	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#3744	4	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#1206	24	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1457	15	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#882	35	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1440	15	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#928	31	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1892	9	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#756	38	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1299	15	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#772	36	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1596	10	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#771	35	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1513	10	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#702	37	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1799	7	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#519	55	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1379	10	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#502	58	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1330	10	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#498	58	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1383	9	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#476	61	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2074	5	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#357	91	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1257	10	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#375	89	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1765	6	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	female	#418	3	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#372	3	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#351	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#885	3	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#856	3	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#905	3	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#883	3	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#713	3	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#393	4	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#790	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1996 and 2025, ranked in 30 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #351, first reached in 1998.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 91 births, registered in England and Wales in 1997.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1998, and 28 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Kenley · #1241, 16y
Kenna · #431, 26y
Kennet · #334, 36y
Kenneth · #10, 79y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Lili · #351, 29y
Zarah · #351, 33y
Marcie · #350, 29y
Henri · #353, 30y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Adley · #351, 19y
Aislin · #351, 12y
Daniyal · #351, 29y
Elspeth · #351, 29y

Kennedy was ranked #351 in Northern Ireland · Girls in 1998. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Kennedy and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Kennedy without appearing here.

Kennedy moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2160 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2263 and #5119.
Glenn Compare
In 2022 they stood at #3451 and #2730 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #2160 and #4991.
Garry Compare
In 2013 they stood at #3315 and #2216 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #2079 and #4632.
Geoffrey Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2755 and #1879 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #2160 and #4107.

Moved ahead of Kennedy

Theodor Compare
In 2008 they stood at #1457 and #1828 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #3744 and #2544.
Arlo Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1379 and #1949 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #1799 and #848.
Cooper Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1330 and #1425 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #1799 and #907.
Aksel Compare
In 2017 they stood at #1339 and #1812 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #2259 and #1382.

Moved the opposite way to Kennedy

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kennedy went from #375 to #1449 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kennedy went from #375 to #1449 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kennedy went from #375 to #1449 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kennedy went from #375 to #1449 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Kennedy

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kennedy went from #375 to #1449 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kennedy went from #375 to #1449 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kennedy went from #375 to #1449 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kennedy went from #375 to #1449 and Alex from #161 to #2253.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1996 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #351 in Northern Ireland in 1998. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Kennedy

Kennedy at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Kennedy across 5 official records

Kennedy by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Kennedy appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Kennedy

Kennedy and the names beside it

Kennedy moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Kennedy

Moved the opposite way to Kennedy

Moved the same way as Kennedy

Kennedy at a glance

Kennedy across 5 official records

Kennedy by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Kennedy appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Kennedy

Kennedy and the names beside it

Kennedy moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Kennedy

Moved the opposite way to Kennedy

Moved the same way as Kennedy