Kenan
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- keh-NAHN
- Origin
- Hebrew
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,337 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #1,145 for boys
Kenan is a boys' name of Hebrew origin. In 2025 it ranked 1,337th for boys in the UK (22 babies) and 1,145th for boys in the US (184 babies).
What does Kenan mean?
Hebrew: biblical name; also the Turkish form of Canaan
Kenan is the son of Enosh and great-grandson of Adam in Genesis; in Turkish it is also the form of Canaan.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Kenan a girl's or a boy's name?
Kenan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 22 boys in the UK and 184 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kenan in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,337among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 22about 1 in 14,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 22% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 22 boys in the UK were named Kenan, making it the 1,337th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,105th. Its busiest year was 1998, with 73 boys.
2025 had fewer boys named Kenan than any year since 2019.
Half of all the boys named Kenan in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 1,275th in England and Wales.
Kenan in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 | #1,337 |
| 2024 | 40 | #863 |
| 2023 | 28 | #1,131 |
| 2022 | 34 | #971 |
| 2021 | 24 | #1,227 |
| 2020 | 27 | #1,105 |
| 2019 | 19 | #1,412 |
| 2018 | 28 | #1,098 |
| 2017 | 19 | #1,428 |
| 2016 | 20 | #1,403 |
| 2015 | 19 | #1,416 |
| 2014 | 30 | #1,031 |
| 2013 | 24 | #1,178 |
| 2012 | 25 | #1,166 |
| 2011 | 18 | #1,433 |
| 2010 | 19 | #1,385 |
| 2009 | 15 | #1,582 |
| 2008 | 24 | #1,129 |
| 2007 | 21 | #1,205 |
| 2006 | 23 | #1,065 |
| 2005 | 24 | #997 |
| 2004 | 17 | #1,183 |
| 2003 | 18 | #1,081 |
| 2002 | 32 | #667 |
| 2001 | 34 | #617 |
| 2000 | 32 | #636 |
| 1999 | 53 | #458 |
| 1998 | 73 | #365 |
| 1997 | 31 | #611 |
| 1996 | 13 | #1,083 |
How popular is Kenan in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,145among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 184about 1 in 9,300 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 184 boys in the US were named Kenan, making it the 1,145th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,325th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 187 boys. It first appears in the records in 1947.
Half of all the boys named Kenan in the US since 1880 were born between 1996 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kenan in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 184 | #1,145 |
| 2024 | 187 | #1,133 |
| 2023 | 143 | #1,328 |
| 2022 | 168 | #1,191 |
| 2021 | 132 | #1,383 |
| 2020 | 135 | #1,325 |
| 2019 | 168 | #1,157 |
| 2018 | 135 | #1,335 |
| 2017 | 98 | #1,623 |
| 2016 | 106 | #1,556 |
| 2015 | 94 | #1,668 |
| 2014 | 110 | #1,473 |
| 2013 | 73 | #1,914 |
| 2012 | 103 | #1,545 |
| 2011 | 129 | #1,319 |
| 2010 | 88 | #1,724 |
| 2009 | 99 | #1,603 |
| 2008 | 121 | #1,399 |
| 2007 | 104 | #1,516 |
| 2006 | 104 | #1,467 |
| 2005 | 107 | #1,389 |
| 2004 | 94 | #1,458 |
| 2003 | 98 | #1,371 |
| 2002 | 114 | #1,208 |
| 2001 | 98 | #1,323 |
| 2000 | 106 | #1,244 |
| 1999 | 115 | #1,140 |
| 1998 | 103 | #1,194 |
| 1997 | 136 | #964 |
| 1996 | 79 | #1,357 |
| 1995 | 82 | #1,295 |
| 1994 | 56 | #1,628 |
| 1993 | 51 | #1,694 |
| 1992 | 70 | #1,347 |
| 1991 | 37 | #2,013 |
| 1990 | 41 | #1,865 |
| 1989 | 25 | #2,539 |
| 1988 | 35 | #1,874 |
| 1987 | 36 | #1,791 |
| 1986 | 40 | #1,616 |
| 1985 | 34 | #1,763 |
| 1984 | 38 | #1,580 |
| 1983 | 33 | #1,710 |
| 1982 | 36 | #1,653 |
| 1981 | 35 | #1,660 |
| 1980 | 38 | #1,569 |
| 1979 | 39 | #1,510 |
| 1978 | 43 | #1,410 |
| 1977 | 44 | #1,367 |
| 1976 | 31 | #1,676 |
| 1975 | 29 | #1,703 |
| 1974 | 28 | #1,692 |
| 1973 | 15 | #2,511 |
| 1972 | 8 | #3,620 |
| 1971 | 9 | #3,368 |
| 1970 | 12 | #2,738 |
| 1969 | 12 | #2,548 |
| 1968 | 5 | #4,135 |
| 1967 | 7 | #3,229 |
| 1966 | 14 | #2,131 |
| 1965 | 19 | #1,805 |
| 1964 | 12 | #2,408 |
| 1963 | 12 | #2,413 |
| 1962 | 12 | #2,363 |
| 1961 | 14 | #2,241 |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 9 | #2,820 |
| 1958 | 9 | #2,816 |
| 1957 | 12 | #2,374 |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 10 | #2,557 |
| 1954 | 7 | #3,174 |
| 1953 | 5 | #3,796 |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 5 | #3,688 |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 5 | #3,731 |
Names like Kenan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Ronan Keegan Conan Finn Kayden Declan Brody Kian Keelan Conlan Keenan Brogan
Names related to Kenan
More Hebrew names
Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias
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, “Kenan: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kenan, updated 20 October 2026.