Kenneth - Meaning of Kenneth

What does Kenneth mean?

Pronounce
Kenneth

[ 2 syll. ken-net(h), ke-nne-th ] The baby boy name Kenneth is pronounced as KEHNNeh-TH †. Kenneth is primarily used in English, Gaelic, and Scottish, and it is of Celtic origin. Kenneth's meaning is fair and fiery. It is derived from the element 'caomh' which is of the meaning fair, comely, gentle. The name evolved as the Anglicized form of the Gaelic names Cináed (Celtic) and Cainneach (Celtic), which mean 'born of fire' and 'fair, handsome one' respectively. Cainneach survives as the modern form Coinneach in Scotland. The name Kenneth was adopted regularly by English speakers from the mid 19th century, and its use has spread beyond people of Scottish roots.

Kenneth has 24 forms that are used in English and other languages. English forms include Kenet, Kenith, Kennath, Kenneith, Kennett, Kenney, Kennit, Kennitt, Kennth, Kennyth, and Kenyth. Other English forms include the contracted forms Ken (also used in German, and Japanese) and Kenn, the diminutive form Kenny (also used in Irish, and Scottish), and the spelling variants Keneth and Kennith.

Forms of Kenneth used in other languages include Cainnech (Irish), Cináed (Scottish), Coinneach (Scottish), Keneke (Hawaiian), Kennet (Scandinavian), Kenya (Russian), and Kesha (Russian). The diminutive form Kent (Scandinavian) is another foreign variant.

See also the related form, the Scottish Cináed.

See also the related categories, english, fiery (powerful), fair (holy), handsome (honorable), fire, gentle (quiet), modern, celtic, and anglicized.

Kenneth is a classic favorite. Currently it is still popular as a baby name for boys, though it was in more widespread use before. At the peak of its usage in 1951, 1.354% of baby boys were named Kenneth. It ranked at #16 then. The baby name has since suffered a marked fall in frequency, and is now of occasional use. In 2018, its usage was only 0.086% and its ranking #226, but it was nevertheless the most popular out of all boy names in its group. Kenneth has mostly been a baby boy name, though in the past century it has also been used for girls. In 1965, the name Kenneth was given to 200 times more baby boys than girls.

Baby names that sound like Kenneth include Kamod, Kanid, Kante, Kantoo, Kantu, Kantue, Kanyd, Kazemde, Kendea, Kendee, Kendey, Kendi, Kendie, Kendy, Kenet, Keneth, Kennard, Kenneith, Kennet, and Kennit.

† Pronunciation for Kenneth: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; TH as in "theme (TH.IY.M)"