English

Proper noun

Kenneth

1. A male given name, originally used in Scotland, popular in all English-speaking countries in the 20th century.
   • 1825 Sir Walter Scott: The Talisman. Chapter III:

     Know, however, that among the soldiers of the Cross I am called Kenneth - Kenneth of the Couching Leopard; at home I have other titles, but they would sound harsh in an Eastern ear.

   • 1998 Barbara Vine ( Ruth Rendell ): The Chimney Sweeper's Boy. ISBN 0670879274 page 166:

     "The other one , his name was Kenneth, was born in February nineteen twenty-one."

     "All these Kens," she said.

     "As you say. It must have been the sexy name. These days Kens are all Chinese cooks. - - -

Related terms

• Ken
• Kenny

References

Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges: A Concise Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press 2001

Danish

Etymology

From English Kenneth at the end of the 19th century.

Proper noun

Kenneth

1. A male given name.

Related terms

• Ken, Kent

References

• Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 16 673 males with the given name Kenneth have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1970s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Norwegian

Etymology

From English Kenneth in c. 1900.

Proper noun

Kenneth

1. A male given name.

Related terms

• Ken, Kent

References

• Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, ISBN 82-521-4483-7
• Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 9 392 males with the given name Kenneth living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1980s. Accessed on 19 May, 2011.

Swedish

Alternative forms

• Kennet

Etymology

From English Kenneth. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1898.

Proper noun

Kenneth

1. A male given name borrowed from English.

Related terms

• Kenny, Kent, Kenth

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, ISBN 91-21-10937-0
• Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, ISBN 9119551622: 27 379 males with the given name Kenneth living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1950s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.