Kain
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KAYN
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #1,728 for boys
Kain is a boys' name of Irish origin, meaning “battle”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies) and 1,728th for boys in the US (94 babies).
What does Kain mean?
Irish: spelling of Kane, from Ó Catháin; also echoes Cain
“battle”
A spelling of Kane, from the Irish surname Ó Catháin, based on cath 'battle'; it also sounds like the biblical Cain.
Is Kain a girl's or a boy's name?
Kain is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK and 94 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kain in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,065among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 52% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Kain, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,185th. Its busiest year was 2001, with 70 boys.
Half of all the boys named Kain in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2011. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
In 2025, 114 boys in the UK were given Kain or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #411, up from #5,065 for this spelling alone.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Kain in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 7 | #2,965 |
| 2022 | 6 | #3,219 |
| 2021 | 12 | #1,969 |
| 2020 | 10 | #2,185 |
| 2019 | 7 | #2,878 |
| 2018 | 10 | #2,234 |
| 2017 | 10 | #2,306 |
| 2016 | 23 | #1,268 |
| 2015 | 24 | #1,202 |
| 2014 | 24 | #1,196 |
| 2013 | 25 | #1,139 |
| 2012 | 24 | #1,199 |
| 2011 | 28 | #1,056 |
| 2010 | 43 | #771 |
| 2009 | 25 | #1,115 |
| 2008 | 26 | #1,071 |
| 2007 | 44 | #710 |
| 2006 | 36 | #784 |
| 2005 | 44 | #658 |
| 2004 | 36 | #724 |
| 2003 | 48 | #546 |
| 2002 | 61 | #418 |
| 2001 | 70 | #388 |
| 2000 | 57 | #428 |
| 1999 | 43 | #522 |
| 1998 | 48 | #485 |
| 1997 | 41 | #510 |
| 1996 | 25 | #677 |
How popular is Kain in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,728among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 94about 1 in 18,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 18% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 94 boys in the US were named Kain, making it the 1,728th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,539th. Its busiest year was 2016, with 180 boys. It first appears in the records in 1973.
2025 had fewer boys named Kain than any year since 2006.
Half of all the boys named Kain in the US since 1880 were born between 2002 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 1,258 boys in the US were given Kain or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #286, up from #1,728 for this spelling alone.
Kain in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 94 | #1,728 |
| 2024 | 110 | #1,573 |
| 2023 | 104 | #1,650 |
| 2022 | 102 | #1,678 |
| 2021 | 141 | #1,320 |
| 2020 | 107 | #1,539 |
| 2019 | 127 | #1,394 |
| 2018 | 143 | #1,282 |
| 2017 | 168 | #1,132 |
| 2016 | 180 | #1,090 |
| 2015 | 124 | #1,388 |
| 2014 | 152 | #1,205 |
| 2013 | 136 | #1,277 |
| 2012 | 136 | #1,285 |
| 2011 | 127 | #1,331 |
| 2010 | 124 | #1,368 |
| 2009 | 109 | #1,517 |
| 2008 | 113 | #1,452 |
| 2007 | 103 | #1,527 |
| 2006 | 91 | #1,596 |
| 2005 | 91 | #1,544 |
| 2004 | 71 | #1,760 |
| 2003 | 108 | #1,295 |
| 2002 | 98 | #1,343 |
| 2001 | 96 | #1,341 |
| 2000 | 105 | #1,250 |
| 1999 | 99 | #1,246 |
| 1998 | 96 | #1,258 |
| 1997 | 82 | #1,347 |
| 1996 | 84 | #1,301 |
| 1995 | 64 | #1,486 |
| 1994 | 51 | #1,729 |
| 1993 | 37 | #2,118 |
| 1992 | 21 | #3,099 |
| 1991 | 14 | #3,998 |
| 1990 | 12 | #4,401 |
| 1989 | 10 | #4,805 |
| 1988 | 12 | #3,910 |
| 1987 | 10 | #4,233 |
| 1986 | 9 | #4,453 |
| 1985 | 10 | #4,047 |
| 1984 | 6 | #5,557 |
| 1983 | 11 | #3,629 |
| 1982 | 9 | #4,232 |
| 1981 | 5 | #6,260 |
| 1980 | 5 | #6,248 |
| 1979 | 8 | #4,401 |
| 1978 | 8 | #4,155 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 5 | #5,584 |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 13 | #2,797 |
| 1973 | 9 | #3,443 |
Names like Kain
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Finn Kian Aiden Declan Ronan Kayden Keegan Keelan Conan Brayden Kody Brody
Other spellings of Kain
Names related to Kain
More Irish names
Oscar Rowan Rory Maeve Ryan Nolan Quinn Orla Cody Erin Connor Casey Kennedy Callan Lennon Cillian
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Kain: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kain, updated 20 October 2026.