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Kevin

Gender
Boy
Say it
KEV-in
Origin
Irish
UK rank, 2025
#292 for boys
US rank, 2025
#221 for boys

Kevin is a boys' name of Irish origin, meaning “gentle birth”. In 2025 it ranked 292nd for boys in the UK (173 babies) and 221st for boys in the US (1,628 babies).

What does Kevin mean?

Irish: anglicised form of Irish Caoimhín

“gentle birth”

Anglicised form of Caoimhín; St Kevin founded the monastery of Glendalough in County Wicklow in the 6th century.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Kevin a girl's or a boy's name?

Kevin is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 173 boys in the UK and 1,628 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Kevin in the UK?

Rank in 2025
292nd among boys
Babies in 2025
173 about 1 in 1,700 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 45% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 173 boys in the UK were named Kevin, making it the 292nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 162nd. Its busiest year was 2017, with 439 boys.

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 5 years. 2025 had the fewest boys named Kevin since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the boys named Kevin in the UK since 1996 were born between 2003 and 2017. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

Among boys in 2025, it was 292nd in England and Wales, 333rd in Scotland and 270th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1944 (#67), 1954 (#20), 1964 (#15), 1974 (#27) and 1984 (#37).

1996Busiest: 439 in 20172025
Kevin in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025173#292
2024197#267
2023244#221
2022280#207
2021318#193
2020373#162
2019354#171
2018383#165
2017439#150
2016382#175
2015381#173
2014359#178
2013352#187
2012383#173
2011330#188
2010353#176
2009362#169
2008338#175
2007373#160
2006333#167
2005325#161
2004290#167
2003276#170
2002260#168
2001284#150
2000278#153
1999323#138
1998386#128
1997398#123
1996357#129

How popular is Kevin in the US?

Rank in 2025
221st among boys
Babies in 2025
1,628 about 1 in 1,000 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 34% in five years
Same name in a class
1.3% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 1,628 boys in the US were named Kevin, making it the 221st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 157th. Its busiest year was 1963, with 30,613 boys. It first appears in the records in 1912.

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 25 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Kevin than any year since 1947.

Half of all the boys named Kevin in the US since 1880 were born between 1964 and 1992, the years shaded on the chart below.

1912Busiest: 30,613 in 19632025
Kevin in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20251,628#221
20241,825#196
20231,920#188
20222,077#182
20212,111#183
20202,385#157
20192,622#149
20183,143#125
20173,834#102
20164,557#90
20155,184#79
20145,902#70
20135,946#72
20126,232#69
20116,568#67
20107,330#59
20098,780#44
20089,798#41
200710,537#39
200610,779#37
200510,917#33
200411,220#34
200311,734#32
200212,046#33
200112,596#32
200012,674#32
199912,257#34
199812,510#32
199713,295#28
199614,589#26
199515,860#25
199417,315#26
199319,084#25
199219,647#25
199120,262#23
199020,413#23
198921,209#19
198820,168#20
198720,421#19
198619,935#21
198518,814#23
198417,858#24
198317,377#25
198217,462#25
198117,454#25
198017,972#23
197918,733#19
197820,094#15
197722,463#13
197618,474#15
197518,066#15
197419,461#14
197320,768#14
197222,354#13
197124,850#14
197026,968#14
196923,557#16
196823,862#17
196724,603#17
196625,592#17
196528,177#13
196429,357#13
196330,613#11
196228,325#14
196128,926#14
196028,400#15
195926,790#14
195824,666#20
195724,285#20
195621,761#22
195517,158#27
195415,322#28
195310,011#36
19527,916#43
19516,349#53
19504,752#73
19493,292#95
19482,225#127
19471,549#160
19461,035#179
1945689#207
1944594#231
1943639#227
1942529#250
1941418#280
1940298#332
1939273#339
1938245#354
1937178#425
1936153#455
1935175#417
1934151#458
1933132#488
1932122#528
1931110#560
193084#681
192975#721
192868#786
192767#811
192646#1,018
192561#851
192450#993
192353#941
192271#794
192184#715
192024#1,543
191914#2,151
191821#1,647
191719#1,692
191618#1,697
191515#1,877
191412#1,867
19139#1,944
19129#1,745

Nicknames for Kevin

Names like Kevin

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Ryan, Keegan, Conan, Kody, Declan, Kian, Aiden, Cody, Kayden, Brian, Regan, Finn

Other spellings of Kevin

Kevan, Kevon, Keven

Names related to Kevin

Kavin, Kevion, Kevyn, Keivon, Kvion

More Irish names

Oscar, Rowan, Rory, Maeve, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Erin, Ronan, Connor, Casey, Kennedy, Callan, Lennon, Cillian, Sloane

Every Irish name

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, “Kevin: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kevin, updated 20 October 2026.