The Baby Name Wizard

Reader Contributions

Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Kenneth!

Comments and insights on the name Kenneth: | Edit

It's my name and I've always been happy with it but the one comment I would make is this: I go by Ken, and when I introduce myself, people often have a hard time hearing what I'm saying - I don't know if it is me, or if there is just something indistinct sounding about "Ken". Strangely enough, it's not uncommon for people to think I'm saying "Tim" or even "Kim", and I sometimes have to repeat it 3 or 4 times before they get it.

I also can't stand "Kenny", and nobody has ever been allowed to call me that, except that for whatever reasons, all of my gym teachers always called me that, and it didn't bother me in that case.

Personal experiences with the name Kenneth: | Edit

My husband's first name is Kenneth and he HATES it. His whole life he went by his middle name Justin...I didn't even know his first name was Kenneth until 6 months into our relationship!!

Kenneth is the middle name of the person I know but it suits him much better than his first name, which is ultra-common! Ken can be mistook as a preppy, white-collar boy (ie, Barbie's boyfriend), or it can be a sign of something kind of counter-culture, counter-intuitive, its all in how you wear it!

My son is 11 and his name is Kenneth. I love this name, and I love my son, it suits him perfectly. He is very handsome, and also very athletic, which I think the name implies. I have always told my husband that the name Ken sounds like a "hunk" name since we were back in high school, and that our son would be a hunk if we named him this. It just sounds very masculine to me and I did not want to give our son a weak sounding name, I wanted him to be sure of himself. I think names like Aiden and Preston sound too uppity and weak. I love my son's name. We call him Ken or Kenny, sometimes K when he was little and his siblings had trouble pronuncing it.

Nicknames for Kenneth: | Edit

Ken, Kenny, Kenn

Meanings and history of the name Kenneth: | Edit

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Famous real-life people named Kenneth: | Edit

Kenneth Branagh, actor/director
Kenneth Cole, fashion designer
Kenneth Grahame, author of "The Wind in the Willows"
Kenny Chesney, country music singer
Ken Kesey, author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Ken Oringer, Boston-based chef and restauranteur

Kenneth in song, story & screen: | Edit

"What's the Frequency Kenneth," a song by REM
Ken, Barbie's boyfriend
Kenny McCormick, from South Park
Kenneth Murtaugh, from Cheaper by the Dozen