The rare name Kessel was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 2017:
- 2019: unlisted
- 2018: unlisted
- 2017: 5 baby boys named Kessel [debut]
- 2016: unlisted
- 2015: unlisted
Where did it come from?
Professional hockey player Philip “Phil” Kessel.
During the second half of the 2010s, Kessel played with the Pittsburgh Penguins (alongside teammate Sidney Crosby). The team won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons: 2016 and 2017.
The name Kessel does not appear anywhere in the SSA’s state-by-state data, meaning that Pennsylvania was not the birthplace of all five of the baby boys named Kessel (curiously). We do know that at least one of the winger’s namesakes was born inside the Keystone State, though — to Pittsburgh parents Nicole and Adam Hillman. Their baby boy, Kessel Ryan Hillman, arrived in May of 2017 (during the Eastern Conference Finals).
The German surname Kessel is derived from a Middle High German word meaning “kettle, cauldron.” It originally referred to a person who made copper cooking vessels.
What are your thoughts on Kessel as a first name?
Sources:
- Phil Kessel – Wikipedia
- “Pittsburgh couple names newborn son after Phil Kessel.” NHL.com 17 May 2017.
- Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- SSA
Image: Adapted from Phil Kessel 2017-06-08 by Michael Miller under CC BY-SA 4.0.
