Kennan
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KEN-an
- Origin
- Irish
- US rank, 2025
- #6,442 for boys
Kennan is a boys' name of Irish origin. In 2025 it ranked 6,442nd for boys in the US (13 babies).
What does Kennan mean?
Irish: Scottish and Irish surname; also a spelling of biblical Kenan
George F. Kennan was the American diplomat who devised the Cold War policy of containment.
Is Kennan a girl's or a boy's name?
Kennan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 13 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kennan in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 6,442nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 13 about 1 in 130,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 24% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 13 boys in the US were named Kennan, making it the 6,442nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,231st. Its busiest year was 2004, with 41 boys. It first appears in the records in 1952.
Half of all the boys named Kennan in the US since 1880 were born between 1985 and 2008, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kennan in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #6,442 |
| 2024 | 14 | #6,194 |
| 2023 | 15 | #5,922 |
| 2022 | 12 | #6,822 |
| 2021 | 9 | #8,161 |
| 2020 | 17 | #5,231 |
| 2019 | 19 | #4,947 |
| 2018 | 19 | #4,914 |
| 2017 | 13 | #6,334 |
| 2016 | 17 | #5,314 |
| 2015 | 17 | #5,285 |
| 2014 | 21 | #4,534 |
| 2013 | 21 | #4,461 |
| 2012 | 11 | #7,044 |
| 2011 | 26 | #3,883 |
| 2010 | 27 | #3,811 |
| 2009 | 22 | #4,427 |
| 2008 | 27 | #3,820 |
| 2007 | 36 | #3,133 |
| 2006 | 25 | #3,886 |
| 2005 | 28 | #3,443 |
| 2004 | 41 | #2,595 |
| 2003 | 34 | #2,843 |
| 2002 | 32 | #2,878 |
| 2001 | 32 | #2,859 |
| 2000 | 35 | #2,616 |
| 1999 | 29 | #2,861 |
| 1998 | 33 | #2,549 |
| 1997 | 26 | #2,899 |
| 1996 | 30 | #2,530 |
| 1995 | 21 | #3,186 |
| 1994 | 21 | #3,209 |
| 1993 | 28 | #2,571 |
| 1992 | 28 | #2,527 |
| 1991 | 25 | #2,677 |
| 1990 | 20 | #3,052 |
| 1989 | 26 | #2,463 |
| 1988 | 15 | #3,345 |
| 1987 | 18 | #2,834 |
| 1986 | 13 | #3,437 |
| 1985 | 12 | #3,596 |
| 1984 | 12 | #3,457 |
| 1983 | 9 | #4,139 |
| 1982 | 11 | #3,690 |
| 1981 | 8 | #4,507 |
| 1980 | 12 | #3,429 |
| 1979 | 6 | #5,353 |
| 1978 | 10 | #3,613 |
| 1977 | 7 | #4,580 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 12 | #2,855 |
| 1972 | 7 | #3,960 |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 12 | #2,738 |
| 1969 | 6 | #3,934 |
| 1968 | 14 | #2,199 |
| 1967 | 6 | #3,557 |
| 1966 | 12 | #2,326 |
| 1965 | 11 | #2,474 |
| 1964 | 9 | #2,853 |
| 1963 | 11 | #2,538 |
| 1962 | 14 | #2,185 |
| 1961 | 16 | #2,069 |
| 1960 | 13 | #2,313 |
| 1959 | 16 | #2,032 |
| 1958 | 7 | #3,273 |
| 1957 | 10 | #2,629 |
| 1956 | 8 | #2,967 |
| 1955 | 11 | #2,434 |
| 1954 | 11 | #2,448 |
| 1953 | 6 | #3,423 |
| 1952 | 8 | #2,872 |
Nicknames for Kennan
- Ken 6 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Kennan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Keegan, Brayden, Declan, Keenan, Kenan, Ronan, Brennan, Conan, Finn, Kayden, Kellan, Aiden
Names related to Kennan
More Irish names
Oscar, Rowan, Rory, Maeve, Ryan, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Cody, Erin, Connor, Casey, Kennedy, Callan, Lennon, Cillian
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, “Kennan: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kennan, updated 20 October 2026.