Boys' name · peaked in 1960
Ken name popularity since 1925
32,748 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Ken. Half of them were born in 1961 or earlier, so the typical Ken is about 65 years old in 2026. Ken peaked in 1960 as the #177 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 32,748
- Named Ken, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #3,277 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.9% boys
- 30 girls · 32,718 boys
- Most popular in
- Hawaii
- 3.73× its national share
Peak year is the year Ken 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.
Ken births per year, 1925–2025
1960 was the biggest year for Ken both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1953 and 1958, Ken became 4.5× more common, from 1 in 6,220 baby boys to 1 in 1,380.
- Steepest fall: Between 1964 and 1969, its share of baby boys fell by 63%, from 1 in 1,350 to 1 in 3,620.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Ken's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Ken.
Decade by decade
Babies named Ken 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 | 232 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 1,667 | #440 |
| 1940s | 0 | 4,874 | #272 |
| 1950s | 0 | 7,111 | #345 |
| 1960s | 15 | 11,898 | #218 |
| 1970s | 10 | 2,243 | #660 |
| 1980s | 0 | 1,231 | #850 |
| 1990s | 5 | 1,191 | #992 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,228 | #1,305 |
| 2010s | 0 | 776 | #1,760 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 267 | #3,277 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
54.4% of babies named Ken from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Ken is most popular
The index compares Ken'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 Ken.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 3.73× | 334 |
| Washington | 2.54× | 1,217 |
| Oregon | 2.21× | 593 |
| California | 1.98× | 6,001 |
| Michigan | 1.70× | 1,865 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Ken's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Ken.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Ken (1960).
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