Kent

Did you know?

A few things about Kent you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Kent

Kent Beck

American software engineer

Choose Kent and your child shares a first name with Kent Beck, an American software engineer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kent, like who?” Kent Beck's Wikipedia article is available in 28 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Kent Beck on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Improve It, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 16,920 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Kent, 101 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kent would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKent first shows up in US birth records in 1885, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 140 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1962, when it ranked #136. Today it's #1,654, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendKent has slipped 231 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,654. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningIn English, Kent means “from Kent”. Our records link it to English and Welsh roots.

About the name Kent

Kent is a boy name of English and Welsh origin meaning “from Kent”. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with K and ending in “-ent”. US birth records list Kent for boys from 1885 to 2025, in 129 of those 141 years. Its best year was 1962, when it ranked #136 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #1,654, with 101 babies.

Origin:English namesWelsh names