Fun Facts About the Name Kensington
- More than 3 thousand babies named Kensington: U.S. records list 3,110 babies given the name Kensington from 1880 through 2025. Even 161 boys received the name Kensington - about 1 boy for every 18 girls.
What Does the Name Kensington Mean?
Kensington is an English place name meaning "the settlement of Cynesige's people." It comes from Old English and is built from three elements: a personal name, Cynesige; the suffix -ing-, meaning "people of" or "belonging to"; and tūn, an old word for an enclosure, farmstead, or village. The personal name Cynesige is itself a compound of cyne- ("royal," "kin") and sige ("victory").
The literal sense is "the tūn of Cynesige's people." Some explanations treat the middle element more loosely and give the meaning as "Cynesige's estate"; the precise force of the -ing- is not certain. What is clear is that the name started life as a place name, not a personal name, and that it referred to a settlement associated with a man named Cynesige. The name's origin language is English, and it is used as a place name in several English-speaking countries; its use as a given name is modern and English-speaking.
Kensington Name History & Origins
The name is first documented in medieval England as a place name. The district in west London known today as Kensington appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Chenesitun and Chenesitone. Over the following centuries the Old English forms passed into Middle English and then into modern English spelling and pronunciation, producing the current form.
The settlement grew around the church of St Mary Abbots and remained largely rural into the 1600s. Kensington became a royal and fashionable district after William III bought Nottingham House there in 1689 and had it rebuilt as Kensington Palace, with work attributed to Christopher Wren. Kensington Gardens were laid out next to the palace, and the surrounding area developed into one of London's wealthiest residential districts. In 1965 the borough was merged with Chelsea to form the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
English settlers and administrators carried the place name to other parts of the world, and it now names several towns, suburbs, and neighborhoods outside Britain, including a Kensington in Maryland, a Kensington near Johannesburg in South Africa, and districts of that name in Philadelphia and Liverpool. As a first name, Kensington is a recent use taken directly from the place name, and it belongs to the wider pattern of place names and surnames adopted as given names.
How Popular is the Name Kensington?
Kensington recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2015. Its best rank was #974 in 2015.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,839 | 60 | 0.0037% |
| 2024 | #2,389 | 76 | 0.0047% |
| 2023 | #2,771 | 62 | 0.0039% |
| 2022 | #2,518 | 71 | 0.0043% |
| 2021 | #1,974 | 99 | 0.0060% |
| 2020 | #1,555 | 136 | 0.0084% |
| 2019 | #1,335 | 171 | 0.0102% |
| 2018 | #1,154 | 211 | 0.0124% |
| 2017 | #1,065 | 241 | 0.0140% |
| 2016 | #1,001 | 264 | 0.0149% |
| 2015 | #974 | 278 | 0.0156% |
| 2014 | #1,108 | 230 | 0.0129% |
| 2013 | #1,095 | 224 | 0.0128% |
| 2012 | #1,489 | 152 | 0.0086% |
| 2011 | #1,763 | 116 | 0.0066% |
| 2010 | #1,805 | 114 | 0.0064% |
| 2009 | #2,581 | 72 | 0.0039% |
| 2008 | #3,188 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 2007 | #3,229 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 2006 | #3,445 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 2005 | #3,557 | 42 | 0.0023% |
| 2004 | #5,006 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2003 | #4,155 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2002 | #5,000 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2001 | #4,767 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2000 | #4,722 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1999 | #5,125 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1998 | #5,942 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1997 | #11,448 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #9,419 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #10,266 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #11,624 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #9,283 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #9,153 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2019 | #6,611 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #5,211 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2017 | #9,307 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #6,542 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2015 | #6,157 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2014 | #11,470 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #7,319 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #10,289 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2011 | #9,215 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2010 | #9,262 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #10,479 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2008 | #11,873 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #13,094 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Kensington Shapes Your Personality and Life?
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✦ Kensington's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kensington's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.