Boy · #208 in 2026

Kevin

Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name Caoimhín. It is composed of caomh "dear; noble"; Old Irish cóem and -gin.

  • English
  • Irish
  • French
  • German
Current Rank
#208
Peak Rank
#11 (1963)
Total Babies
1.2M
5-Yr Trend
-34%
1938
First Year
2024
Last Year
1977
Peak Year
#933
Peak Rank
5K
Total Count
80
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Kevin

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name Caoimhín. It is composed of caomh "dear; noble"; Old Irish cóem and -gin.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • English
  • Irish
  • French
  • German
  • Dutch
  • Portuguese
Origin & history
Saint Kevin (d. 618) founded Glendalough abbey in the Kingdom of Leinster in 6th-century Ireland . Canonized in 1903, he is one of the patron saints of the Archdiocese of Dublin . Caomhán of Inisheer , the patron saint of Inisheer , Aran Islands , is properly anglicized Cavan or Kevan , but often also referred to as "Kevin". The name was rarely given before the 20th century. In Ireland an early bearer of the anglicised name was Kevin Izod O'Doherty (1823–1905) a Young Irelander and politician; it gained popularity from the Gaelic revival of the late nineteenth century, with Kevin Barry and Kev

The Story of Kevin

The earliest SSA record of Kevin as a baby boy name dates back to 1912, when 9 babies received it. 1963 was its biggest year on record, with 30,611 newborns named Kevin — #11 in the national rankings. About 23% of every Kevin on record arrived during the 1960s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Kevin ranks #208 for baby boys with 1,703 births, falling sharply (-34%). All told, over 1.2M Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Kevin

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Kevin. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Notable people named Kevin

A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.

  • Kevin (footballer, born 1997) , full name Kevin Peterson dos Santos Silva, Brazilian footballer
  • Kevin (footballer, born 2003) , full name Kevin Santos Lopes de Macedo, Brazilian footballer
  • Kevin Abernathy (born 1991), American editor and occasional host of shows on the Game Grumps platform
  • Kevin Abley (1935–2024), Australian rules footballer
  • Kevin Agudelo (born 1998), Colombian footballer
  • Kevin Akpoguma (born 1995), German-Nigerian footballer
  • Kevin Alaníz (born 2003), Uruguayan footballer
  • Kevin Almeroth , professor of computer science

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Names that sound like Kevin

Phonetically similar names — useful when Kevin is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kevin

What does the name Kevin mean?
Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name Caoimhín. It is composed of caomh "dear; noble"; Old Irish cóem and -gin.
What is the origin of the name Kevin?
Kevin has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English, Irish, French, German, Dutch, Portuguese.
How popular is Kevin in 2026?
In 2026, Kevin ranks #208 among boys' names in the U.S., with 1,703 babies given the name that year.
When was Kevin most popular?
Kevin reached its peak popularity in 1963, ranking #11 that year with 30,611 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Kevin most popular?
Kevin has historically been most popular in U.S. Territories, Puerto Rico, Iowa. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Kevin.
Is Kevin a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Kevin is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.
What names go well with Kevin?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Kevin include Willie, Jack, Levi. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Kevin?
Common variants and related forms of Kevin include Caoimhín, Kev, Kevan, Keven, Kévim, Kévin. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

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About the name Kevin

Kevin is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1912 and has accumulated 1.2M births in the dataset. Kevin's peak popularity came in 1963 when it ranked #11. Use the chart and map above to compare Kevin's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.