Kenneth

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Kenneth

Gender: Masculine
Language: English
Etymology:
Kenneth is the English form of a Gaelic name, Cinaed. Originally it meant “Born of Fire.”

History:
Kenneth (in its original form) was a favorite of the 6th century.
The name Kenneth, as adapted by the Lowland Scots, was introduced to England by Sir Walter Scott’s 1825 novel Talisman which had a character named Sir Kenneth.

Kenneth became common in the late 19th century and popular in the early 20th.

Pronunciation: ken-eth.

Diminutives: Ken, Kenny.
Scandinavian: Kent.

Alternates: Keneth, Kennith.
Hawaiian: Keneke.
Irish: Canice.
Latin: Canicus.
Scandinavian: Kennet.
Welsh: Cennydd.

Feminine: Kenina, Kenna.

Surnames: Mackenzie.

See also: Ken, Kenny.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932)
British author.
Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957)
American novelist.
Kenneth Bird (1887-1965)
British cartoonist.
Kenneth Slessor (1901-1971)
Australian poet.
Kenneth Fearing (1902-1961)
American poet and novelist.
Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982)
American painter.
Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972)
American poet.
Kenneth Noland (1924-)
American painter.
Kenneth Koch (1925-)
American playwright and poet.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Kenneth Burke (1897-1993)
American literary critic.
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (1903-1983)
British art historian.
Kenneth L. Pike (1912-)
American linguists.
Kenneth Arrow (1921-)
American economist.

Miscellaneous:
Kenneth Colin Irving (1899-1992)
Canadian industrialist.

Political Figures:
Kenneth Kaunda (1924-)
1st President of Zambia.
Kenneth Starr (1946-)
Investigated Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Religious Figures:
Saint Kenneth (515-599)
Converted the Picts to Christianity.

Royalty:
King Kenneth I of Scotland (?-858)
Called Kenneth Macalpin (son of Alpin). Ruled a united Scottish and Pictish kingdom.
King Kenneth II of Scotland (?-995)
Ruled from 971 to 995.
King Kenneth III of Scotland (?-1005)
Grandfather of Lady Macbeth.

Scientists:
Kenneth V. Thimann (1904-1997)
English-American plant physiologist.
Kenneth Bainbridge (1904-1996)
American physicist who worked on the atomic bomb.
Kenneth Wartinbee Spence (1907-1967)
American psychologist.
Kenneth Oakley (1911-1981)
English anthropologist, geologist, and paleontologist.
Kenneth C. Brugger (1918-1998)
American naturalist.
Kenneth Stafford Norris (1924-1998)
American marine naturalist.
Kenneth Geddes Wilson (1936-)
American physicist. Winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Physics.

Singers and Entertainers:
Kenneth Anger (1930-)
American filmmaker.
Kenneth Branagh (1960-)
Irish-English actor.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.826 % named Kenneth
0.055 % named Ken
0.039 % named Kenny
0.007 % named Kennith
0.004 % named Keneth

Popularity of Kenneth:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 47th most popular.
1910-1920: 27th most popular.
1920-1930: 20th most popular.
1930-1940: 15th most popular.
1940-1950: 16th most popular.
1950-1960: 16th most popular.
1960-1970: 21st most popular.
1970-1980: 31st most popular.
1980-1990: 47th most popular.
1990: 54th most popular.
1991: 56th most popular.
1992: 60th most popular.
1993: 61st most popular.
1994: 69th most popular.
1995: 73rd most popular.
1996: 74th most popular.
1997: 80th most popular.
1998: 84th most popular.
1999: 89th most popular.
2000: 92nd most popular.
2001: 94th most popular.
2002: 103rd most popular.
2003: 109th most popular.