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Kendal

#3,276 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Variant of Kendall

Kendal has been given to 13,800 babies in the U.S. since 1951. In 2025 it ranked #3,276 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2004, with 565 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 66% girls, 34% boys all-time.

Babies named Kendal, 2025

1 in 69,100

Kendal over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Kendal over time

In 2025, Kendal went to 80% girls and 20% boys.

19152025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Kendal: meaning, origin, and history

Variant of Kendall

surname transfer

What Kendal means

Kendal is a variant of Kendall.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Kendal → Kendall. The family’s meaning is “spring + valley”, recorded in English with the source elements kelda and dalr.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Old English Cent + dæl = "valley of the river Kent".

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Kendal (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Kendal is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Kendal comes through Old English Cent.

Kendal is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Kendall.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Kendal is pronounced /ˈkɛndəl/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 9,123 girls were recorded with the name Kendal between 1951 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 565 in 2004; its best national rank was #513 in 2004.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,363 in 2020 to #3,276 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,262 in 2015 to #3,276 in 2025.

In the United States, 4,677 boys were recorded with the name Kendal between 1915 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 140 in 1994; its best national rank was #884 in 1990.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,002 in 2020 to #7,006 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,548 in 2015 to #7,006 in 2025.

How common is Kendal?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 69,100
48 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 33,500
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#3,276
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
47,874 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kendal sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 47,874 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kendal. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kendals were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kendal was born before 2004 — so the typical Kendal is around 21 today.

Median birth year
2004
About 21 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
37.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
61.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
9,123
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 37.4% of all recorded uses (3,415).

Is Kendal rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+334
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−913
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−2,014
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.25×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
8.5%
Peak was 2004 (565)
Years since peak
21
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
15.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#513
2004

Spellings of Kendal

Kendal is not the most common spelling — Kendra is, with 38.5% against Kendal's 3.6%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Kendal is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Kendal was most concentrated in Ohio — about 1 in 12,500 girls, against 1 in 34,353 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in 100,000).

18 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Ohio1 in 12,500
  2. 2Pennsylvania1 in 14,286
  3. 3Michigan1 in 25,000
  4. 4Oregon1 in 25,000
  5. 5Texas1 in 25,000
  6. 6North Carolina1 in 33,333
  7. 7California1 in 50,000
  8. 8Indiana1 in 50,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Kendal is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Kendal was most concentrated in Alabama — about 1 in 25,000 boys, against 1 in 103,515 across all states with data. It was least common in Wisconsin (1 in —).

04 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Alabama1 in 25,000
  2. 2Louisiana1 in 25,000
  3. 3Illinois1 in 50,000
  4. 4North Carolina1 in 50,000
  5. 5Oklahoma1 in 50,000
  6. 6Texas1 in 50,000
  7. 7Arkansas1 in 100,000
  8. 8California1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Kendal has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Kendal around the world

Where Kendal ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #2,788
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1985–2021
    #652
    in 2021
  • France
    2015–2020
    #7,668
    in 2020
  • Canada
    1991–2023
    #2,672
    in 2023
  • South Australia
    1971–2012
    #871
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Kendal

People whose public names include Kendal, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Kendal in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Kendal. Linked forms have their own page here.

Kendall

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Kendal by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,276
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 913
Best rank ever
#513
2004
Peak year
2004
565 that year
First recorded
1951
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
9,123
Count in 2025
48

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#7,006
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 4,004
Best rank ever
#884
1990
Peak year
1994
140 that year
First recorded
1915
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,677
Count in 2025
12

Names similar to Kendal

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

KenleyKendylKensleyKenzieKeniaKennaKennediKenleeKenishaKenadiKenyaKenziKyndalKendaKensieKenediKennadiKendellKenadeeKennadyKenzleyKendraKenniaKenzlee

Names with a curve like Kendal

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Kendal, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

LizethJaceyKinseyYazminJackelineJazmynUniqueShylaJohanaCarleeElyssaEvelin

Sibling names for Kendal

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Kendal

Top names of 2004, Kendal's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 2004Girls' names starting with K