Boys' name · peaked in 2012
Kellen name popularity since 1925
18,307 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Kellen (6.9% girls, 93.1% boys). Half of them were born in 2008 or earlier, so the typical Kellen is about 18 years old in 2026. Kellen peaked in 2012 as the #337 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 18,307
- Named Kellen, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,069 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 93.1% boys
- 1,265 girls · 17,042 boys
- Most popular in
- Washington
- 4.21× its national share
Peak year is the year Kellen made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Kellen births per year, 1925–2025
2012 was the biggest year for Kellen both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1999 and 2004, Kellen became 2.1× more common, from 1 in 8,610 baby boys to 1 in 4,180.
- Steepest fall: Between 2012 and 2017, its share of baby boys fell by 54%, from 1 in 2,040 to 1 in 4,410.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Kellen's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Kellen.
Decade by decade
Babies named Kellen in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 0 | 43 | #4,136 |
| 1960s | 65 | 43 | #4,200 |
| 1970s | 12 | 26 | #5,914 |
| 1980s | 380 | 2,854 | #454 |
| 1990s | 349 | 1,981 | #704 |
| 2000s | 229 | 4,398 | #521 |
| 2010s | 176 | 6,167 | #507 |
| 2020–25 | 54 | 1,530 | #1,069 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.
Generation fingerprint
43.9% of babies named Kellen from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Kellen is most popular
The index compares Kellen's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Kellen.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 4.21× | 1,058 |
| Oregon | 4.12× | 581 |
| Colorado | 2.82× | 523 |
| Minnesota | 2.11× | 580 |
| Arizona | 1.69× | 330 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Kellen and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Kellen (this page) | 17,042 | 2012 |
| Kellan | 10,752 | 2013 |
| Kellin | 1,185 | 2014 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Kellen's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Kellen.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Kellen (2012).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data