Kemper
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- KEM-per
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #6,140 for boys
Unisex
Kemper is a name of English origin, meaning “champion, warrior”. In 2025 it ranked 6,140th for boys in the US (14 babies).
What does Kemper mean?
English: surname from Middle English kempe 'warrior'
“champion, warrior”
Occupational surname for a champion or professional fighter.
Is Kemper a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Kemper has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 21 girls and 14 boys in the US.
How popular is Kemper in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #6,140among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 14about 1 in 120,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 20% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 14 boys in the US were named Kemper, making it the 6,140th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,915th. Its busiest year was 2009, with 70 boys. It first appears in the records in 1912. 21 girls were also named Kemper in 2025 (5,721st for girls).
2025 had fewer boys named Kemper than any year since 2002.
Half of all the boys named Kemper in the US since 1880 were born between 1967 and 2013, the years shaded on the chart below.
Girls were 8% of the babies named Kemper in the US in 2005, and 60% in 2025.
Kemper in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 14 | #6,140 |
| 2024 | 25 | #4,197 |
| 2023 | 32 | #3,564 |
| 2022 | 29 | #3,772 |
| 2021 | 20 | #4,776 |
| 2020 | 26 | #3,915 |
| 2019 | 24 | #4,226 |
| 2018 | 39 | #2,992 |
| 2017 | 43 | #2,797 |
| 2016 | 39 | #2,992 |
| 2015 | 54 | #2,385 |
| 2014 | 42 | #2,803 |
| 2013 | 50 | #2,460 |
| 2012 | 60 | #2,184 |
| 2011 | 48 | #2,546 |
| 2010 | 53 | #2,374 |
| 2009 | 70 | #1,989 |
| 2008 | 44 | #2,752 |
| 2007 | 49 | #2,533 |
| 2006 | 57 | #2,220 |
| 2005 | 58 | #2,110 |
| 2004 | 55 | #2,127 |
| 2003 | 15 | #5,030 |
| 2002 | 11 | #6,081 |
| 2001 | 13 | #5,383 |
| 2000 | 8 | #7,409 |
| 1999 | 10 | #6,036 |
| 1998 | 10 | #5,834 |
| 1997 | 13 | #4,663 |
| 1996 | 10 | #5,528 |
| 1995 | 12 | #4,785 |
| 1994 | 7 | #6,962 |
| 1993 | 7 | #6,809 |
| 1992 | 11 | #4,864 |
| 1991 | 12 | #4,468 |
| 1990 | 7 | #6,408 |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 7 | #5,745 |
| 1987 | 5 | #6,945 |
| 1986 | 9 | #4,453 |
| 1985 | 12 | #3,596 |
| 1984 | 5 | #6,311 |
| 1983 | 8 | #4,497 |
| 1982 | 5 | #6,383 |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 5 | #6,054 |
| 1978 | 7 | #4,552 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 8 | #3,939 |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 10 | #3,221 |
| 1972 | 7 | #3,960 |
| 1971 | 11 | #2,971 |
| 1970 | 8 | #3,519 |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 8 | #3,106 |
| 1967 | 14 | #2,138 |
| 1966 | 7 | #3,247 |
| 1965 | 6 | #3,535 |
| 1964 | 7 | #3,281 |
| 1963 | 10 | #2,672 |
| 1962 | 11 | #2,502 |
| 1961 | 7 | #3,354 |
| 1960 | 11 | #2,533 |
| 1959 | 7 | #3,289 |
| 1958 | 5 | #3,942 |
| 1957 | 8 | #3,022 |
| 1956 | 7 | #3,214 |
| 1955 | 10 | #2,557 |
| 1954 | 15 | #2,043 |
| 1953 | 8 | #2,904 |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 7 | #3,064 |
| 1950 | 7 | #3,020 |
| 1949 | 7 | #3,018 |
| 1948 | 6 | #3,315 |
| 1947 | 17 | #1,849 |
| 1946 | 8 | #2,689 |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 10 | #2,308 |
| 1943 | 6 | #3,229 |
| 1942 | 5 | #3,559 |
| 1941 | 8 | #2,655 |
| 1940 | 11 | #2,179 |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 7 | #2,905 |
| 1936 | 5 | #3,548 |
| 1935 | 7 | #2,951 |
| 1934 | 7 | #2,972 |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 5 | #3,774 |
| 1931 | 5 | #3,761 |
| 1930 | 6 | #3,590 |
| 1929 | 8 | #2,978 |
| 1928 | 6 | #3,695 |
| 1927 | 9 | #2,911 |
| 1926 | 8 | #3,137 |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 8 | #3,259 |
| 1923 | 11 | #2,613 |
| 1922 | 5 | #4,305 |
| 1921 | 12 | #2,501 |
| 1920 | 9 | #2,966 |
| 1919 | 13 | #2,264 |
| 1918 | 13 | #2,259 |
| 1917 | 6 | #3,543 |
| 1916 | 7 | #3,176 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,069 |
| 1914 | 0 | – |
| 1913 | 6 | #2,495 |
| 1912 | 5 | #2,543 |
Nicknames for Kemper
- Kem
Names like Kemper
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Carter Walker Parker Cooper Archer Hunter Baker Miller Wilder Karter Asher Tucker
More English names
Lily Evelyn Hudson Ivy Harper Grace Violet Willow Daisy Poppy Riley Oakley Mason Ruby Hallie Hazel
Sources
Figures from 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, “Kemper: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kemper, updated 20 October 2026.