Kenai
Kenai was the 713th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 377 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,366 places. More babies were named Kenai in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning meadow, flat open land (Dena'ina) · Native American
Say it KEE-ny /ˈkinaɪ/
- Rank in 2025
- #713 boys, up 561 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 377boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2025377 babies
- Total since 1880
- 2,465babies recorded
What does the name Kenai mean?
Kenai is the name of a city, peninsula and river in Alaska. Wiktionary traces it through Russian Kenai to the Dena'ina (Athabaskan) word kena, "meadow"; Wikipedia, citing James Kari's Dena'ina dictionary, glosses ken or kena as flat, open land with few trees, or a low ridge. As a boys' name it is also known from Disney's animated film Brother Bear (2003), whose hero is a young Alaska Native named Kenai.
kena (Dena'ina, “meadow; flat open area”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Pronunciation: Said like the Alaska place name, KEE-nye.
See also: names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kenai', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Kenai, Alaska', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Brother Bear', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Kenai popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 74 since 2003, 6 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #713 | 377 |
| 2020 | #1,274 | 144 |
| 2010 | #2,896 | 41 |
| 2000 | — | — |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Kenai, counting every spelling?
Kenai is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #657 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #713 for Kenai on its own. Together these spellings went to 408 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenai | 377 | #713 | 1,282 |
| Kenay | 26 | #4,090 | 92 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Kenai?
377 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kenai (0.10 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Kenai born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 22 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kenai.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kenai?
About 2,400 people born in the US named Kenai are alive today, with a median age of 5; half are between 2 and 10. That makes Kenai a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Kenai by state
How common Kenai was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Oklahoma (3.1×), Colorado (3.0×), Washington (2.7×), Oregon (2.7×), Utah (2.5×). In 18 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kenai: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kenai, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kenai · Sibling names for Kenai
Questions about the name Kenai
What does Kenai mean?
Kenai means “meadow, flat open land (Dena'ina)” (Native American origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Kenai?
Kenai was the 713th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 377 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,366 places. More babies were named Kenai in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Kenai a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Kenai in the US.
Where is Kenai most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kenai was most common in Oklahoma (0.46 per 1,000 boys), followed by Colorado and Alaska.