How popular is the baby name Ken in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Ken.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Ken


Posts that Mention the Name Ken

“Jeopardy!” contestant named after IKEA furniture

Contestant Niklas Berry on the TV game show "Jeopardy!" (Jul. 2023)
Niklas Berry on “Jeopardy!“

Last week, the TV game show Jeopardy! featured a contestant named Nik Berry.

After introducing Nik to the audience, Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings asked Nik about his name:

Nik Berry, a social studies teacher, comes to us from Baltimore. Now, I know a lot of Niks, but you might be the only one who’s named after — what?

Nik responded:

Well, my parents wanted an alternate spelling of Nicholas, so they went with n-i-k-l-a-s because, when they were shopping at IKEA before my birth, they saw a shelf called the Niklas.

Hundreds of U.S. babies have been named Ikea, but this is the first person I know of who was named with a specific piece of IKEA furniture in mind.

According to IKEA’s Norwegian-language Navnekatalogen (“Name Directory”), the Niklas shelf was introduced in 1981. Here’s what it looked like:

IKEA Niklas (1981)
“Never say no to a good book”

What are your thoughts on the name Niklas?

(And, did you know that a handful of U.S. babies have been named after Jeopardy contestants?)

Sources: Contestant Zone – Jeopardy.com, Jeopardy! tweet (20 Jul. 2023)

Where did the baby name Gevan come from in 1952?

area of suspicion, gevan dean, 1950s, baby name

The baby name Gevan was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 1952:

  • 1954: unlisted
  • 1953: unlisted
  • 1952: 12 baby boys named Gevan [debut]
  • 1951: unlisted
  • 1950: unlisted

But it wasn’t just any old one-hit wonder — it was the top one-hit wonder of the year. And that’s not all — it also tied for top boy-name debut name of the year.

The influence behind Gevan eluded me for a long time…mainly because I wasn’t looking for it. The name Kevin was very trendy in the 1950s, so I initially wrote off Gevan as variant of fast-rising Kevin.

When I finally decided to take a second look at Gevan, though, I did indeed find a distinct explanation.

It was a story called “My Brother’s Widow,” published serially in Collier’s weekly magazine over five consecutive issues from mid-March to mid-April, 1952.

The story’s main character was Gevan “Gev” Dean. After his brother Ken was murdered, Gev returned to his hometown to mind the lucrative family business, Dean Products, where there was an internal power struggle going on. He also had to deal with Ken’s widow, Niki — who happened to be his former girlfriend:

gevan, 1952

After “My Brother’s Widow” came out in Collier’s, author John D. MacDonald beefed it up and released it as a standalone book with a new title, Area of Suspicion, in early 1954.

Further research reveals that at least two of the baby Gevans born in 1952 had the middle name Dean. And other Gevan Deans were born in later years/decades, no doubt to parents who had picked up the book.

Do you like the name Gevan? How would you pronounce it?

Sources: Area of Suspicion – The Trap of Solid Gold, John D. MacDonald – Wikipedia

P.S. John D. MacDonald’s 1957 novel The Executioners was turned into the 1962 movie Cape Fear.

Where did the baby name Mardeen come from in 1950?

mardeen, baby name, comic, 1950
Mary Worth – July 30, 1950

The name Mardeen has appeared in the U.S. baby name data just twice — once in 1950, then again a couple years later:

  • 1953: unlisted
  • 1952: 5 baby girls named Mardeen
  • 1951: unlisted
  • 1950: 14 baby girls named Mardeen [debut]
  • 1949: unlisted

Other variants of the name (Mardene and Mardine) had been in the data before this, but neither has ever been given to as many as fourteen babies per year.

So where did Mardeen come from? My best guess is a secondary character from the nationally syndicated comic strip Mary Worth. Mardeen made appearances regularly in 1950, from June through August.

Mardeen worked as a housekeeper for fellow character K. T. “Katy” Farrell, who was the 35-year-old, “brilliantly successful” head of a publishing house. Katy was involved in a romance — well, a love triangle — with “young novelist” Gregory Ford, one of Mary Worth’s friends. (Despite the title, Mary herself didn’t often make appearances in the strip.)

The comic Mary Worth, which has been around since the late 1930s, was being written by Allen Saunders and drawn by Ken Ernst at that time.

What do you think of the name Mardeen? How would you spell it?

Numerology and baby names: Number 3

numbers

Below are hundreds of baby names with a numerological value of 3.

What do I mean by that?

Well, in numerology, you substitute each letter in a word with that letter’s ordinal value in the alphabet. (The letter B has a value of 2, for instance, because it’s the second letter.) Then you add those ordinal values together to come up with a total. Lastly, you add the digits of that total together to obtain a numerological value.

Here’s an example: The letters in the name Ben have the values 2, 5, and 14. Added together, these values equal 21. And the digits of 21 added together equal 3.

All of the “3” names below are sub-categorized by totals — just in case any of those larger numbers are significant to anyone. Within each group you’ll find some of the most popular “3” names per gender (according to the most recent set of U.S. baby name rankings).

3 via 12

The letters in the following baby names add up to 12, which reduces to three (1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 12)Boy names (3 via 12)
Aja, Fae, Bia, Abi, BeeGad, Jb, Abed

3 via 21

The letters in the following baby names add up to 21, which reduces to three (2+1=3).

Girl names (3 via 21)Boy names (3 via 21)
Kai, Asa, Gala, Jaia, CleaKai, Kade, Asa, Alec, Ben, Beck, Cale

3 via 30

The letters in the following baby names add up to 30, which reduces to three (3+0=3).

Girl names (3 via 30)Boy names (3 via 30)
Ella, Alice, Anna, Jane, Noa, Bianca, Abby, Bria, Celia, Liah, Kalea, Dafne, Asia, Tia, Lela, Bree, Caeli, Jean, Ilah, Bobbi, Aaira, LacieJoe, Noa, Jean, Rafe, Taha, Eesa, Bodi, Tai, Ken, Abir, Zac, Asai

3 via 39

The letters in the following baby names add up to 39, which reduces to three (3+9=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 39)Boy names (3 via 39)
Camila, Ayla, Sara, Gemma, Amy, Leila, Mya, Kira, Allie, Angel, Amber, Clare, Kodi, May, Janie, Alya, Diya, Kari, Dalila, Deanna, Ellia, Laya, Ameena, Adora, Jackie, Iona, Joie, Kaleia, Deasia, Avana, Asra, GoldaAngel, Declan, Kash, Sean, Drake, Jon, Jakob, Asaiah, Lev, Emil, Tahj, Kodi, Keagan, Judd, Sanad, Amadeo, Kree, Edric, Breck, Aero, Jawad, Jackie, Jaeden, Galen, Jakhi, Khaleb

3 via 48

The letters in the following baby names add up to 48, which reduces to three (4+8=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 48)Boy names (3 via 48)
Luna, Nora, Claire, Isabel, Daphne, Teagan, Adriana, Celine, Alayah, Amora, Kalani, Sarai, Briar, Sasha, Zelda, Siena, Aviana, Aliya, Kairi, Ainhoa, Ellen, Meghan, Ariadna, Miya, Dariana, Rita, Faigy, Maite, Kalina, Sahara, Liza, Nyah, Saira, Anabella, Donna, Aiyla, Pamela, Jannah, James, Joni, Kiari, Ofelia, Amyah, Carlie, Issa, Mayah, Aayat, Levi, Malaika, Katana, Merci, Siara, Abilene, Edyn, Lou, Kenedi, BrandiJames, Levi, Ethan, Theo, Jonah, Graham, Malakai, Jasiah, Leland, Johan, Kamden, Amos, Zakai, Aron, Briar, Jagger, Rey, Blaise, Jakobi, Semaj, Noble, Teagan, Aksel, Roan, Kahari, Eamon, Armaan, Kailo, Issa, Keelan, Niall, Gracen, Malachai, Miko, Marek, Izaak, Lou, Luan, Efren, Hosea, Zahid, Aycen, Farhan, Rye, Tom, Aadvik, Brave, Faisal, Oshea, Aceyn, Uri, Vidal, Jhoan, Kairi, Jaceon, Dekari, Kailan, Sasha, Pearce, Aasir, Thane

3 via 57

The letters in the following baby names add up to 57, which reduces to three (5+7=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 57)Boy names (3 via 57)
Aaliyah, Rose, Mary, Adalyn, Kailani, Mariana, Hayden, Willa, Amiyah, Myra, Lilian, Nellie, Ellis, Laney, Julie, Layne, Jaylah, Nancy, Sandra, Alaiyah, Alessa, Cecily, Harlem, Kylah, Eunice, Rayla, Zelie, Lux, Aylen, Alizah, Ayvah, Zofia, Katy, Kaileen, Zayda, Niyah, Moon, Jennie, Namaari, Colby, Gisele, Taleen, Leyna, Karol, EvannaOwen, George, Hayden, Ellis, Major, Eithan, Colby, Krew, Layne, Chris, Uriah, Benicio, Franco, Duncan, Eugene, Harlem, Wallace, Lux, Kyng, Eros, Aryeh, Yoel, Edson, Jasir, Xaiden, Aharon, Malcom, Daylan, Javian, Kemari, Arion, Artem, Advait, Burke, Nayel, Brogan, Murad, Abubakar, Kaleth, Nahum, Jaiceon, Golden, Sion, Slate, Bless

3 via 66

The letters in the following baby names add up to 66, which reduces to three (6+6=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 66)Boy names (3 via 66)
Harper, Addison, Ruby, Emery, Sloane, Ximena, Lainey, Delaney, Brooke, Ophelia, Annabelle, Nayeli, Alessia, Frances, Rosie, Jessica, Alejandra, Holland, Jaliyah, Maxine, Elyse, Nathalia, Saanvi, Raylee, Mollie, Tatiana, Jasmin, Shayla, Yaneli, Laynie, Beckett, Charlene, Mckayla, Georgie, Rhyan, Eliany, Citlali, Krisha, Serene, Amyrah, Lulu, Savanah, Colleen, Henny, HaizleeCharles, Beckett, Xander, Zayn, Tobias, Manuel, Romeo, Royce, Esteban, Dalton, Armando, Corey, Dillon, Emery, Edison, Keaton, Ricky, Kaizen, Cassian, Denzel, Zakari, Jerome, Bastian, Booker, Finnick, Harper, Rush, Ilyas, Steele, Holland, Zyan, Mickey, Gibson, Darnell, Mykel, Meyer, Vito, Maksim, Elton, Esdras, Addison, Lyon, Osmar, Vedant, Ronen, Arsalan, Jorden, Ryden, Keshav, Yaqub, Shmiel

3 via 75

The letters in the following baby names add up to 75, which reduces to three (7+5=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 75)Boy names (3 via 75)
Madison, Quinn, Esther, Tatum, Adelynn, Raelyn, Annalise, Rosalia, Bethany, Clover, Kinslee, Aspyn, Rosalee, Simone, Sharon, Rowen, Eliyanah, Avalyn, Geraldine, Mariyah, Hollis, Xolani, Eisley, Katarina, Addalynn, Denisse, Bryanna, Eleanore, Susana, Andromeda, Marianne, Azuri, Emryn, Lucianna, Hayven, Cheyanne, Marielle, Ronnie, Nylani, Annmarie, Maylani, Delainey, Sofiya, Maybelle, MilagroZayden, Marcus, Martin, Tatum, Luciano, Quinn, Jeffrey, Kendrick, Rowen, Zachariah, Kaysen, Gunnar, Maximo, Magnus, Melvin, Leroy, Hollis, Ronnie, Dominik, Yaakov, Jeffery, Norman, Jermaine, Simeon, Slater, Linus, Arrow, Ramses, Wendell, Karmelo, Raylen, Lamont, Roscoe, Damarion, Xavien, Johnnie, Ezriel, Bayron, Mahmoud, Nessiah, Zaedyn, Lynx, Ferris, Jassiel, Sorin, Connell, Heitor, Hershel, Jonatan, Lyrik, Zahmir, Avrum, Vyom

3 via 84

The letters in the following baby names add up to 84, which reduces to three (8+4=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 84)Boy names (3 via 84)
Ryleigh, Londyn, Collins, Jocelyn, Makenzie, Lennox, Violeta, Zaniyah, Mazikeen, Maelynn, Yusra, Lillianna, Madalynn, Austin, Renesmee, Sunday, Caitlyn, Charity, Lindsay, Mahogany, Arizona, Emberleigh, Lennyn, Anneliese, Brinleigh, NormaniAlexander, Leonardo, Austin, Nathaniel, Emmanuel, Barrett, Lennox, Zyaire, Marshall, Lawson, Jaxton, Kyson, Jayson, Atreus, Ryatt, Terrance, Rayyan, Thorin, Alister, Nickolas, Francesco, Luther, Lyndon, Yuvaan, Demarcus, Eastyn, Million, Stiles, Rashawn, Collins, Alexandre, Braxten, Kenyon, Axtyn, Surya, Willis, Sylis, Vinny

3 via 93

The letters in the following baby names add up to 93, which reduces to three (9+3=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 93)Boy names (3 via 93)
Juniper, Sunny, Elliott, Ashlynn, Yamileth, Majesty, Rhiannon, Novaleigh, Evalynn, Cristina, Britney, Brighton, Rosalinda, Philomena, Railynn, Rosaline, NazarethBryson, Elliott, Justin, Atticus, Cristian, Tyson, Roberto, Arturo, Sunny, Greysen, Brighton, Taysom, Sylvan, Shaurya, Majesty, Jaxsyn

3 via 102

The letters in the following baby names add up to 102, which reduces to three (1+0+2=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 102)Boy names (3 via 102)
Charlotte, Juliette, Wrenley, Whitley, Jazlynn, Kingsley, Kaylynn, Kinzley, Gwyneth, Christiana, Emmerson, Katelynn, Gwenyth, Vanellope, Winnifred, ValentineHarrison, Brixton, Kingsley, Langston, Huxton, Syrus, Iverson, Humberto, Henderson, Yehoshua, Valentine, Zaviyar, Whitley, Abdulaziz, Zorawar, Scotty

3 via 111

The letters in the following baby names add up to 111, which reduces to three (1+1+1=3).

Girl names (3 via 111)Boy names (3 via 111)
Amethyst, Parklynn, Braylynn, Taylynn, Brystol, PromyseRaymundo, Muhammadamin, Briggston, Xzavion, Christos

3 via 120

The letters in the following baby names add up to 120, which reduces to three (1+2+0=3).

Girl names (3 via 120)Boy names (3 via 120)
Skylynn, Yaretzy, Lexington, Greylynn, StarletteMaximiliano, Ulysses, Lexington, Leviticus, Thompson

3 via 129

The letters in the following baby names add up to 129, which reduces to three (1+2+9=12; 1+2=3).

Girl names (3 via 129)Boy names (3 via 129)
Kourtney, Tzipporah, Knoxlynn, Iyinoluwa, TraylynnAugustus, Silvestre, Brookston, Constantin, Trayshawn

Number 3: Meaning and Associations

What does the number three mean in numerology? Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer. Various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number three.

That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 3 being described as “creative,” “optimistic,” “friendly,” “outgoing,” and “self-expressive.”

Personally, I prefer to look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are some things that are associated with the number 3:

  • Triple crown
  • Hat trick (3 goals scored in one game by a single player)
  • Traffic lights
  • Circus (3 rings)
  • Yard (3 feet)
  • Manx flag (3 legs)
  • Three-act structure (in narrative)
  • Rule of three (also in narrative)
  • Rule of thirds (in photography)

What does the number 3 mean to you? What are your strongest associations with the number?

(To see names with other numerological values, check out the posts for the numbers one, two, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine.)

Sources: SSA, Numerology – Cafe Astrology, The meaning of the numbers 1 – 9 – World Numerology, 3 – Wikipedia
Image by dominik hofbauer from Unsplash

[Latest update: Sept. 2023]