Name Awesome

Kestrel

#6,983 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Rattle

Kestrel has been given to 339 babies in the U.S. since 1985. In 2025 it ranked #6,983 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2019, with 19 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 92% girls, 8% boys all-time.

Babies named Kestrel, 2025

1 in 207,000

Kestrel over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
0510152018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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 — Kestrel over time

In 2025, Kestrel went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

19852025

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.

Kestrel: meaning, origin, and history

Rattle

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Kestrel means

Kestrel means “rattle”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 312 girls were recorded with the name Kestrel between 1985 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 19 in 2019; its best national rank was #6,296 in 2019.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #8,194 in 2020 to #6,983 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #9,815 in 2015 to #6,983 in 2025.

In the United States, 27 boys were recorded with the name Kestrel between 2012 and 2024. Its highest annual count was 6 in 2023; its best national rank was #11,584 in 2023.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Kestrel?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 207,000
16 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 100,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#6,983
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
143,620 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kestrel 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 143,620 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kestrel. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kestrels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kestrel was born before 2014 — so the typical Kestrel is around 11 today.

Median birth year
2014
About 11 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
36.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
81.1%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
312
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 36.9% of all recorded uses (115).

Is Kestrel 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
+4,672
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+1,211
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+2,832
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.45×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
84.2%
Peak was 2019 (19)
Years since peak
6
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
42.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#6,296
2019

Where Kestrel is used

Across 1910–2025, Kestrel was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 3,202,555 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —

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. Kestrel has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Kestrel around the world

Where Kestrel 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.

  • Canada
    2000–2000
    #2,489
    in 2000
  • South Australia
    2010–2010
    #521
    in 2010

Popularity data from Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Kestrel by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#6,983
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,211
Best rank ever
#6,296
2019
Peak year
2019
19 that year
First recorded
1985
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
312
Count in 2025
16

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#11,584
2023
Peak year
2023
6 that year
First recorded
2012
Last recorded
2024
All-time count
27
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Kestrel

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

KeshawnKesleyKesleeKeshanaKesharaShirelKeshaunaKesslerKeshonaKeslieKesiaKesiahKeshawnaKeshviTzirelKeshondaKeshaviKeshonnaKessiahKeslynSorrelKesleighKeshaunKessa

Sibling names for Kestrel

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 Kestrel

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