Picked the letter and stalled on the name? Boy names that start with K run from hard-edged classics to Hawaiian softness, Japanese kanji picks and a few outright curiosities.
Kai is the only K name here still inside the U.S. top 100, ranking 93rd in 2025, while Knox sat at 196th and Kingston at 204th (1). Baby name analyst Laura Wattenberg has said, “Increasingly, boys’ names are subject to a lot of the same style pressures that girls’ names are,” pointing to a drift toward gentler, vowel-heavy sounds. Even so, this list shows plenty of parents still reaching for a hard consonant.
Every entry below carries its meaning, origin, pronunciation, namesakes and current U.S. ranking, so you can weigh a midcentury classic like Kurt against a newcomer like Kairo without leaving the page.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Kai, Knox, Kingston, Kevin and Kairo.
100 Cool Male Names That Start with K
Peer into our kaleidoscope of 100 killer K names for boys.
Kaan
Kaan traces back to Kağan, the Ottoman Turkish title rendered as king of kings, a heavy inheritance for a boy who cannot yet hold up his own head. Turkish families in Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S. have kept it in circulation, the sound light enough to carry the weight. Hand it to a baby and Dad may find himself sharing the throne.
- Origin: Turkic
- Meaning: King, ruler
- Pronunciation: KAH-n
- Variations: Khan
- Namesakes: Kaan Tangöze, a Turkish guitarist and lead vocalist for the rock band Duman. Kaan İnce, a Turkish writer and poet. Kaan Önder, a title-holding Turkish racecar driver.
- Popularity: Kaan ranked 3,344th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 2,987th in 2005.
Kabir
The Quran names Kabir roughly 40 times through the root K-B-R, which puts real weight behind its meaning of great. It stays short and easy to say in English, so the gravity never turns into a spelling lesson. Pair it with Khan, as the film director Kabir Khan does, and you get a badass name that reads as great king. On its own, though, Kabir needs no help.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Great, powerful
- Pronunciation: kuh-BEE-r
- Variations: Kabeer
- Namesakes: Kabir Khan, an Indian screenwriter, director, and cinematographer for Hindi films. Kabir Ali, an English cricketer.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kabir sat at 999th in the U.S., off its 2021 high of 839th.
Kade
Kade has a meaning, round and slightly lumpy, that describes most newborns rather well. Beyond its Anglo-Saxon roots it may be a short form of the Scottish Gaelic Kaden, itself a form of Caden, meaning battle. Another line points to the Old German name Kaden, read as swamp or wetland. Not the most flattering set of options, and yet the name sounds cool enough to shrug all of it off.
- Origin: Anglo-Saxon
- Meaning: Round, lumpy
- Pronunciation: KAYD
- Variations: Cade
- Namesakes: Kade Harvey, an Australian cricketer. Kade Simon, stage name Lord Brynner, an award-winning Trinidadian calypsonian.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kade at 349th in 2025. It has been listed since 1969 and peaked at 345th in 2024.
Kadeem
Kadeem carries two Quranic threads. It works as a form of Qadeem, meaning ancient, and as a variant of Kadim, from Kazim, for the man who keeps hold of his temper. Either reading points at patience, which parents come to value somewhere around the third night feed. It is a settled, grown-up sound for a boy who may or may not cooperate.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: He who controls his anger, ancient, time-honored
- Pronunciation: kuh-DEEM
- Variations: Qadeem, Kadim
- Namesakes: Kadeem Hardison, an American actor. Kadeem Corbin, a Trinidadian football player. Kadeem Allen, an American professional basketball player.
- Popularity: Kadeem placed 4,316th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 1991 best of 501st. Births are up about 27% on the previous decade.
Kaden
Kaden looks simple and is anything but. The most accepted line runs back to the Anglo-Saxon Cade, meaning round, though the Irish Cathán and Callan offer battle, and the surnames Mac Cadáin and McCadden offer son of Cadán. All that history sits under a name that plays perfectly nicely with Hayden and Jaden on a class roll call. Spelling is the only real chore, since Kayden, Caden and Kaeden all have their partisans.
- Origin: Anglo-Saxon, English, Gaelic, Arabic
- Meaning: Round, fighter, battle, companion
- Pronunciation: KAY-dun, KAY-den
- Variations: Kayden, Caden, Caeden, Kaeden
- Namesakes: Kaden Honeycutt, an American professional stock car driver. Kaden Groves, an Australian professional cyclist. Kaden Hopkins, a Bermudan racing cyclist.
- Popularity: Kaden ranked 328th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 92nd in 2006.
Kael
Kael is a respelling of the Anglicized Cáel built on the Irish caol, meaning slender or narrow. The original Cáel belonged to the Fianna, the band of warriors who fill so much of Irish legend. So the name is thin on the page and sturdy underneath, which is a good trick. If Kai feels too well used, Kael gives you the same opening sound with far less company.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Slender
- Pronunciation: KAY-el
- Variations: Cáel, Cael
- Namesakes: Kael Mouillierat, a Canadian professional ice hockey player.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kael sat at 903rd in the U.S., off its 2009 high of 851st.
Kaemon
Kaemon grew out of Uemon, an archaic court rank once used by samurai, with the kanji ka added for additional or esteem. It is uncommon in Japan now and rarer still anywhere else, which is exactly the appeal for some families. The sound is clean and unfussy in English, three syllables that do not fight the tongue. Old rank, quiet delivery.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Additional protection gate, esteemed protection gate
- Pronunciation: KA-eh-mon
- Variations: Uemon
- Popularity: Kaemon last appeared in U.S. records in 2023, at 9,336th, and ranked best at 3,837th in 2007. Births are down about 53% on the previous decade.
Kai
Kai belongs to half a dozen naming traditions at once and answers to all of them. Hawaiian gives it sea, Japanese and Chinese add their own readings, and in Frisian and German it works as a short form of Nicolaas, Cornelis, Gerhard or Gaius. Welsh, Hebrew and Navajo lines have been proposed as well. Three letters, one syllable, and no country where it sounds foreign. That kind of universal fit is rare, and it means the name will never need a pronunciation guide at the pediatrician’s office.
- Origin: Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese
- Meaning: Sea, triumph, shell
- Pronunciation: KYE
- Variations: Cai
- Namesakes: Kai Cenat III, an American Twitch streamer and YouTuber. Kai Lennox, an American actor. Kai Althoff, a German artist and musician.
- Popularity: Kai placed 93rd in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2022 best of 59th.
Kain
Kain is the Greek form of the Hebrew Cain, meaning something produced, a phrase drawn from Eve’s line about her firstborn. The biblical association is unavoidable, so this suits parents who like the sound and are untroubled by the story. Stripped of that, it is a single crisp syllable that sits well in front of almost any surname. The K spelling softens the reference just enough for some families.
- Origin: Greek, Hebrew
- Meaning: Something produced
- Pronunciation: KAYN
- Variations: Cain
- Namesakes: Kain Bond, an English professional football player. Kain O’Keeffe, an Australian actor.
- Popularity: Kain ranked 1,738th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 1,093rd in 2016.
Kairo
Kairo is a respelling of Cairo, the Anglicized name of Egypt’s capital, which comes from the Arabic al-Qāhirah, meaning the victorious. Nobody will miss the reference, and that is the point: the city does the heavy lifting while the K keeps it current. It landed at its best U.S. rank yet in 2025, so this is a place name on the way up rather than a relic.
- Origin: English, Arabic
- Meaning: The victorious, the conqueror
- Pronunciation: KYE-roh
- Variations: Cairo
- Popularity: Kairo reached its best U.S. rank yet in 2025, at 226th; it has been in the records since 1995. Births are up about 2517% on the previous decade.
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German form of Caesar, the Roman cognomen turned imperial title, and one etymology traces it to the Latin caesaries, meaning hairy. Distance has done it favors, since the hair is forgotten and the authority remains. Two syllables, both of them certain of themselves. It suits a baby who already sets the household schedule and expects to be obeyed.
- Origin: Latin, German
- Meaning: Leader, emperor
- Pronunciation: KEYE-zr, KEYE-zuh
- Variations: Keiser, Keizer, Kiser, Kayser, Kyser, Kyzer
- Namesakes: Kaiser Johnson, an American actor and voiceover talent.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kaiser at 836th in 2025. It has been listed since 1915 and peaked at 749th in 2022.
Kale
Kale collects meanings the way some children collect rocks. It is a form of the German surname Kohl or Kehl, meaning cabbage; in Greek it carries beauty and belonged to one of the Charities; in Marathi it reads as black, from the Sanskrit kāla. Hawaiian speakers use it as a short form of Charles, which is how the football player Charles Kale Ane came by his. Vegetable jokes are the price of admission, and U.S. use has fallen sharply since its 2008 peak.
- Origin: German, Hawaiian, Greek
- Meaning: Cabbage, free man, beauty
- Pronunciation: KAYL
- Variations: Cale, Kayle
- Namesakes: Kale Cezario, a Ghanaian politician. Kale Kye-Taung Nyo, a king of Ava and governor of Kalay.
- Popularity: Kale placed 7,419th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2008 best of 504th.
Kaleb
Kaleb is Caleb with the sharper opening letter, built on the Hebrew kelev. The biblical Caleb was one of the spies Moses sent into Canaan, and Puritan settlers carried the name to America. Swapping the C for a K is a small change that reads as contemporary without inventing anything. It still ranks comfortably in U.S. use, which makes it familiar without being everywhere.
- Origin: English, Hebrew
- Meaning: Dog
- Pronunciation: KAY-leb
- Variations: Caleb, Chaleb
- Namesakes: Kaleb Ramsey, a professional American football (gridiron) player. Kaleb Stewart, an American musician, singer-songwriter, and skateboarder. Kaleb Nation, an American writer and YouTuber.
- Popularity: Kaleb ranked 295th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 108th in 2009. Births are down about 46% on the previous decade.
Kal-El
Kal-El came from the comic writers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster as Superman’s Kryptonian birth name, and it has been rendered as voice of God. Others read it as son, while the invented Kryptonian language gives star child. Whichever version you prefer, the reference is the name and there is no hiding it. Nicolas Cage used it for his son, so there is precedent for going all in.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Voice of God
- Pronunciation: KAL-el
- Variations: Kal-el, Kalel
- Namesakes: Kal-El Coppola Cage, the son of American actor Nicolas Cage.
- Popularity: The U.S. federal data has never published a rank for Kal-El.
Kallik
Kallik is an Inuit choice meaning lightning, and it sees very little use outside that context. Readers of the Seekers novels will know it as the young polar bear at the center of the series. Two hard K sounds give it real snap, which fits a quick-witted kid. It falls below the federal five-births line, so your Kallik would be starting fresh.
- Origin: Inuit
- Meaning: Lightning
- Pronunciation: KA-leek, KA-lick
- Variations: Kalik
- Popularity: Kallik is too rare in the U.S. for the Social Security Administration to list it.
Kallinikos
Kallinikos joins the Greek kalos, meaning beautiful, virtuous or noble, with nike, for victory. Beautiful victory is a fair description of how most parents remember a delivery room. Four syllables is a lot to hand a kindergartener, and more cautious families park it in the middle slot instead.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Beautiful victory
- Pronunciation: kal-EE-nee-kohs
- Variations: Callinicus
- Namesakes: Kallinikos, a Jewish-Byzantine architect and chemist.
- Popularity: Kallinikos falls below the SSA’s five-births publication line, so it carries no U.S. rank.
Kallum
Kallum is the English respelling of the Scottish Gaelic Callum, a name meant to honor Saint Columba, whose own name means dove. It pairs easily with a one syllable middle name, since the double L already gives the first name its own rhythm. That image of the dove does quiet work, soft and peaceable in a way few boy names manage. The spelling keeps it looking modern next to the older Calum, and it sits deep enough in the U.S. rankings to stay a considered pick rather than a default one. Cal makes an easy everyday nickname, one syllable and done. Friends may shorten it even further, though the full form still reads well on a resume years later.
- Origin: English, Scottish, Latin
- Meaning: Dove
- Pronunciation: KA-lum, KAY-lum
- Variations: Kalum, Callum, Calum
- Namesakes: Kallum Higginbotham, an English professional football player. Kallum Mantack, an English professional football player.
- Popularity: Kallum reached its best U.S. rank yet in 2025, at 1,522nd; it has been in the records since 2007.
Kamden
Kamden is Camden with a modern edge, taken from an Old English place surname. The parts are usually read as campas, an enclosure, and denu, a valley, though winding valley has been suggested too. Kam and Kammy are waiting as nicknames, and both are worth keeping. U.S. use peaked in 2013 and has eased back since, which is often when a name becomes wearable again.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Enclosed valley
- Pronunciation: KAM-den
- Variations: Camden
- Namesakes: Kamden Beauchamp, an American actor known for his role in Looper.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kamden sat at 718th in the U.S., off its 2013 high of 352nd.
Kane
Kane travels well and picks up something new everywhere it lands. In Ireland it is the Anglicized Ó Catháin, from the Old Irish cath, for battle. In Hawaiian, Kāne is a cognate of Tāne and means man, while in Japanese the pronunciation shifts to KA-neh, where it reads as money and is used only for girls. The English version stays short, blunt and unmistakably masculine.
- Origin: Irish, Japanese, Hawaiian
- Meaning: Little battler, gold/money, man
- Pronunciation: KAYN, KA-neh
- Variations: Kāne
- Namesakes: Kane Alexander, an Australian singer and TV actor. Kane Brown, an American singer.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kane at 451st in 2025. It has been listed since 1953 and peaked at 319th in 2018. Births are up about 91% on the previous decade.
Kanye
Kanye means next in line in Yoruba, and the meanings stack up from there: to give in Igbo, to shine in Zulu and Xhosa, free in Hawaiian. The sound is airy and open, nothing like the weight of what it means. One bearer dominates the association entirely, which is either the reason to choose it or the reason not to. U.S. use spiked in the mid 2000s and has thinned out a long way since.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: Next in line (to the chieftaincy)
- Pronunciation: KAN-yay
- Namesakes: Kanye West, an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
- Popularity: Kanye placed 12,964th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2004 best of 486th.
Kapel
Kapel shifts meaning with the border. Yiddish speakers use it as a pet form of Yaakov, the Hebrew Jacob, while Polish gives it as a variant of Kapela, the occupational surname for a musician. There is even a Slovenian reading, kapelji, for the bullhead, a kind of catfish. Musician, patriarch or fish, it is a durable little name with almost no competition attached.
- Origin: Polish, Yiddish
- Meaning: Musician, supplanter
- Pronunciation: KA-puul, KA-pel
- Popularity: Kapel is too rare in the U.S. for the Social Security Administration to list it.
Kareem
Kareem turns up in the Quran roughly 27 times, with meanings that run to generous, honorable and noble. Once known mainly inside Muslim communities, it crossed over in the U.S. long ago on the strength of the sound alone, two syllables and a warm ending that need no spelling lesson. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remains the name’s best known bearer in the U.S., and decades after his playing days it still carries that association.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Generous, honorable, kind-hearted, noble
- Pronunciation: kuh-REEM
- Variations: Karim, Kerim
- Namesakes: Karim Aziz, an Egyptian actor. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, an American professional basketball player. Kareem Dennis, stage name Lowkey, is a British rapper and activist.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kareem sat at 702nd in the U.S., off its 1977 high of 367th. Births are up about 34% on the previous decade.
Karl
Karl is the Germanic form of Charles, resting on the proto-Germanic karlaz, meaning man, and read as free man. It has the plainness that vintage names get right: nothing decorative, nothing to explain. Charlemagne himself was Karl der Große, which is about as much history as one syllable can hold. Next to Carl it looks sharper and less dated, and it still appears in U.S. records every year.
- Origin: Scandinavian, German
- Meaning: Free man
- Pronunciation: KARL
- Variations: Carl
- Namesakes: Karl der Große, or Charles the Great in English, a Frankish King and the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Karl Albrecht, a German entrepreneur. Karl Becker, a German painter.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Karl at 1,593rd in 2025. It has been listed since 1880 and peaked at 135th in 1960.
Karlsson
Karlsson is a Scandinavian patronymic, the son of Karl, and it works as both a first and last name. Dad does not need to be a Karl for it to fit, since the surname style is the whole point. Two syllables and a hard landing give it a classic, slightly formal feel. It is rare enough in the U.S. that the federal data has never listed it.
- Origin: Scandinavian, Swedish
- Meaning: Son of Karl
- Pronunciation: KARL-sun
- Variations: Carlsson, Karlson, Karlsen, Carlson, Carlsen
- Popularity: Karlsson is too rare in the U.S. for the Social Security Administration to list it.
Karmel
Karmel is not the syrup, whatever the spelling suggests. This is the original Hebrew form of Carmel, describing new grain and, by extension, a fruitful field, vineyard or orchard. Both a mountain and a now disestablished city carry the name. For parents who want their kid outdoors more than indoors, the imagery is already doing the work.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Orchard
- Pronunciation: KAR-ml, KAR-mel
- Variations: Carmel
- Popularity: Karmel last appeared in U.S. records in 2012, at 11,536th, and ranked best at 7,730th in 2006.
Karter
Karter is Carter with the letter swapped, an occupational surname built on the Gaelic cairt, meaning cart, with the Old French caret and other Germanic roots also proposed. Anyone who has pushed a toddler through a supermarket will find that meaning funnier than it deserves to be. The K spelling gives it a slightly harder edge than Carter while keeping the same easy two syllables.
- Origin: English, Irish
- Meaning: Transporter of goods by cart
- Pronunciation: KAH-tuh, KAR-ter
- Variations: Carter
- Namesakes: Kodor Zaher, stage name Karter Zaher, a Lebanese-Canadian singer-songwriter and rapper. Karter Simmons, an American actor.
- Popularity: In 2025, Karter sat at 270th in the U.S., off its 2020 high of 162nd.
Kash
Kash starts as Cash, an English occupational surname for a box maker, from the Norman French casse. American ears hear the money instead, which is half the fun. It also works as a short form of the Sanskrit Akash, meaning sky. Brash, brief and entirely unembarrassed, Kash hit its best U.S. showing in 2021 and has stayed close to it since.
- Origin: Indian, English
- Meaning: Sky, universe, box-maker, money
- Pronunciation: KASH
- Variations: Cash
- Namesakes: Kash Kade Biermann, son of TV personality Kim Zolciak-Biermann, and American football player, Kroy Biermann.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kash at 286th in 2025. It has been listed since 1916 and peaked at 240th in 2021.
Kasim
Kasim is a variant of Qasim, formed on the Quranic root Q-S-M and usually read as one who distributes. A son of the Prophet Muhammad carried it, which secured its standing early. The Q spelling is the more traditional one; the K spelling travels better through English paperwork. It stays uncommon in U.S. records, so the name arrives without a crowd.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Generous giver, handsome, beautiful and radiant
- Pronunciation: KA-sim
- Variations: Kasem, Qasim, Qāsim, Qasem
- Namesakes: Kasim Sulton, an American guitarist, keyboardist, and band vocalist. Kasim Abid, an Iraqi filmmaker and cinematographer. Kasim Yildiz, a professional football player.
- Popularity: Kasim placed 5,721st in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 1991 best of 2,787th.
Kasper
Kasper is the Dutch, Danish and Polish form of Casper. The trail runs from the Latin Gasper back through the Hebrew gizbar to the Persian ganzabara, meaning treasurer. Guarding treasure is a decent job description for a new parent. The friendly cartoon ghost belongs to the C spelling, which leaves Kasper looking a little more serious. It reached its best U.S. rank in 2024, so it is quietly finding its footing.
- Origin: Persian, Scandinavian
- Meaning: Treasurer, treasure bearer
- Pronunciation: KASS-pur
- Variations: Casper
- Namesakes: Kasper Jørgensen, a Danish rower. Kasper Ødum, a Danish badminton player. Kasper Søndergaard Sarup, a Danish handball player.
- Popularity: Kasper ranked 1,880th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 1,748th in 2024.
Kastor
Kastor comes from the Greek Kástōr, tied to kékasmai and read as one who excels. A competing derivation gives beaver, thought less likely since beavers were foreign animals to the Greeks. It also looks like caster sugar and has nothing whatever to do with it. The federal data has not listed Kastor since 2021, which puts it firmly in rare territory.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: One who excels, one who shines
- Pronunciation: KA-stawr
- Variations: Castor
- Namesakes: Kastor Notter, a Swiss cyclist.
- Popularity: Kastor last appeared in U.S. records in 2021, at 13,115th, and ranked best at 13,115th in 2021.
Katz
Katz is a Jewish surname drawn from the initials of the old Hebrew title kohen tzedek, though the German side is far less solemn, since Katze simply means cat. Holding both at once, priest of righteousness and house cat, is a neat trick for four letters. Kit makes an easy short form on the playground, if the full surname ever feels too formal for a toddler.
- Origin: German, Hebrew
- Meaning: Cat, priest of righteousness/justice
- Pronunciation: KATSS
- Namesakes: Alex Katz, an American visual artist.
- Popularity: Katz falls below the SSA’s five-births publication line, so it carries no U.S. rank.
Kaz
Kaz answers to two families. As a short form of Cassius it inherits the Latin cassus, for hollow or empty, though Cassius has also been read as helmeted warrior. As a Slavic short form of Kasimir it splits again, either from kaziti, to destroy, or kazati, to order, paired with miru, meaning peace. Destroyer or peacekeeper, then, depending on the day and the toddler. It reached its best U.S. rank in 2023, which is late in the life of a name first recorded here in 1918.
- Origin: Latin, Slavic
- Meaning: Empty, hollow, destroyer or enforcer (of peace)
- Pronunciation: KAZZ
- Namesakes: Kaz James, an Australian singer-songwriter and DJ. Kaz Grala, an American professional stock car racer. Kaz Garas, a Lithuanian-American actor.
- Popularity: Kaz placed 3,705th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2023 best of 2,562nd.
Kazuo
Kazuo pairs the kanji kazu, for one or harmony, with o, meaning man. First son and harmonious man are both fair readings, so it suits a firstborn or a household hoping for quiet. American records first picked it up in 1911, which makes it a genuine antique next to most names on this list.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: First son, first man, harmonious man
- Pronunciation: KA-zoo-oh
- Namesakes: Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, a Japan-born British Nobel Prize-winning novelist, screenwriter, and musician. Kazuo Azuma, a Japanese professional shogi player.
- Popularity: Kazuo ranked 12,988th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 933rd in 1921.
Kazuto
Anime viewers will place Kazuto immediately as Kazuto Kirigaya, the lead of Sword Art Online. The name itself joins kazu, for one or harmony, with to, meaning person. Calm is the whole mood here, which is what most households are short of after a baby arrives. U.S. records last listed it in 2022, so it stays scarce outside Japan.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: The first one, peaceful person, harmonious
- Pronunciation: KA-zoo-toh
- Namesakes: Kazuto Nakazawa, a Japanese character designer, and anime and video game director. Kazuto Doi, is a Japanese competitive sailor.
- Popularity: Kazuto last appeared in U.S. records in 2022, at 13,345th, and ranked best at 3,580th in 1919. Births are up about 20% on the previous decade.
Keane
Keane comes from Ó Catháin, built on cath, meaning battle, with a diminutive suffix that turns it into little battler. Most of its life has been spent as a surname, which is where the crisp, no nonsense sound comes from. As a first name it is bright and carries across a playground. And yes, someone will make the keen joke.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Battler, fighter
- Pronunciation: KEEN
- Popularity: U.S. records place Keane at 7,007th in 2025. It has been listed since 1950 and peaked at 2,062nd in 1996.
Keanu
Keanu joins the Hawaiian article ke with anu, giving the coolness or a cool breeze. One actor owns the association so completely that there is no point pretending otherwise, and few namesakes are better liked. The three syllables stay soft where a lot of K names land hard. It reached its best U.S. rank in 2020 and has stayed near it, so the name is doing more than riding a memory.
- Origin: Hawaiian
- Meaning: The coolness, cool breeze
- Pronunciation: keh-ah-noo
- Variations: Keānu
- Namesakes: Keanu Reeves, a Canadian actor. Keanu Marsh-Brown, an English professional football player.
- Popularity: Keanu placed 649th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2020 best of 515th.
Keaton
Keaton is an Old English place surname most often read as river town, with a second line joining the Cornish kee, for a hedge or bank, to the Old English tun. It sits in the same easy register as Keanu and Keane, familiar without being common. The double syllable lands softly and pairs well with a punchier one syllable middle name like Beau or Jack.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Place of hawks, river town
- Pronunciation: KEE-tun
- Namesakes: Keaton Henson, an English musician, composer, visual artist, and poet. Keaton Jennings, a South African-born English cricketer.
- Popularity: Keaton ranked 771st among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 353rd in 2000. Births are down about 43% on the previous decade.
Kedron
Kedron is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew Qidron, from the root qadar, meaning to be dark. A second root suggests burning or radiating heat, and while some translate it as gloominess, dusky is the closer fit. Confusion with the Greek kedros, for cedar, is why the Kidron Valley is sometimes called the valley of the cedars by mistake. The federal data has not listed Kedron since 2013, so it is a quiet biblical option rather than a fashionable one.
- Origin: Hebrew, Greek
- Meaning: Dusky, dark
- Pronunciation: KEH-drun, KEH-dron
- Variations: Kidron, Cedron, Qidron
- Namesakes: Kedron of Alexandria, the fourth Patriarch of Alexandria.
- Popularity: Kedron last appeared in U.S. records in 2013, at 13,133rd, and ranked best at 3,453rd in 1969.
Keegan
Keegan is the Anglicized form of Mac Aodhagáin, the Irish Gaelic surname built on Aodhagán, a pet form of Aodh, which meant fire. Fiery is a generous way to describe most toddlers, but some earn it. The name has a bounce that suits a kid who never simply walks anywhere. It peaked in U.S. use in 2007 and remains in steady circulation.
- Origin: Irish, English
- Meaning: Fire, fiery
- Pronunciation: KEE-gun
- Variations: Keagan
- Namesakes: Keegan Gerhard, an American pastry chef and former TV show host. Keegan Joyce, an Australian singer and actor. Keegan Akin, an American professional baseball player.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Keegan at 621st in 2025. It has been listed since 1965 and peaked at 222nd in 2007.
Keenan
Keenan is the Anglicized Cianán, a diminutive of Cian, meaning ancient. A Hebrew reading of possession has also been offered, which lands uncomfortably close to how new parents behave in the first year. Your baby is not ancient, obviously, so the name gives him something to grow into. It has been in American records since 1942 and has never gone away.
- Origin: Irish, English
- Meaning: Ancient
- Pronunciation: KEE-nun
- Namesakes: Keenan Cornelius, a Hawaiian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Keenen Wayans, an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker.
- Popularity: Keenan placed 1,307th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 1997 best of 354th. Births are down about 21% on the previous decade.
Kei
Kei is historically masculine in Japan and has drifted toward gender neutral use. It also serves as a pet form for girls called Keiko, so it moves easily in both directions. The meanings on offer, respect, blessing, gemstone and joy, are all things a parent would happily hand a child. Different kanji give different readings, so the written form matters here as much as the sound.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Respect, blessing, gemstone, joy
- Pronunciation: KAY
- Namesakes: Kei Hosoya, a Japanese professional baseball player. Kei Akagi, a Japanese-American jazz pianist. Kei Pilz, a Japanese Michelin star-winning chef and restaurateur.
- Popularity: Kei ranked 6,284th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 3,402nd in 2015.
Kelly
Kelly began as the Anglicized Irish Ceallach and the surname Ó Ceallaigh, and it was a boy’s name for most of its history. Girls took it up in the 1960s and never gave it back. Its best U.S. showing for boys was 10th in 1977, a long way from where it sits now. Parents who like a cheerful, slightly retro pick could reasonably bring it back.
- Origin: Irish, English
- Meaning: Bright-headed, warrior
- Pronunciation: KEH-lee
- Variations: Kelley, Kelli, Ceallach, Ceallagh
- Namesakes: Kelly Bennett, a Zimbabwean cricketer. Kelly Asbury, an American animated film director, writer, and voice actor. Kelly Makin, a Canadian film and TV director.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kelly sat at 852nd in the U.S., off its 1977 high of 10th.
Kelvin
Kelvin may come from a cognate of the Welsh celefyn, meaning stem or stalk, though friend of ships has also been suggested as an alternate root. Most people will think first of the temperature scale, named for the engineer and physicist William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin. That association is a decent one for a name to carry, precise, useful and quietly brilliant. The V gives it a bit more bite than Kevin without losing the family resemblance. Grandparents who remember the science classroom tend to approve on sight. Kel works as a casual short form for a boy who would rather skip the physics lecture.
- Origin: Scottish, English
- Meaning: Narrow river
- Pronunciation: KEL-vin
- Namesakes: Kelvin Mercer, an American rapper and record producer. Kelvin Droegemeier, an American meteorologist and government advisor. Kelvin Harrison Jr., an award-winning American actor.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kelvin at 1,036th in 2025. It has been listed since 1912 and peaked at 207th in 1965. Births are down about 42% on the previous decade.
Ken
In English, Ken is usually short for the Scottish Kenneth, read as handsome or born of fire. In Japan it is a standalone name and common there, with meanings running to strong and healthy. Those are sturdy foundations for something that fits on any form and any nametag. The doll did it no favors in the west, but a one syllable classic can absorb a joke. Ken ranked as high as 177th in the U.S. in 1960.
- Origin: Japanese, English
- Meaning: Strong, healthy, handsome, born of fire
- Pronunciation: KEN
- Namesakes: Ken Akamatsu, a Japanese politician and manga artist known for the manga LoveHina. Ken Okuyama, a Japanese industrial designer and business owner. Ken Uehara, a Japanese film actor.
- Popularity: Ken placed 3,277th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 1960 best of 177th.
Kendall
Kendall comes from a town in England, joining the River Kent to the Old English dæl, meaning valley. It has been used for boys and girls for decades, and one famous bearer has not turned it into a girls only club. The sound is bright and open, a little softer than most names on this list. U.S. use for boys peaked in 2012 and it still appears every year.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Valley on the river Kent
- Pronunciation: KEN-dl
- Variations: Kendal
- Namesakes: Kendall Schmidt, an American singer-songwriter and actor. Kendall Grove, an American mixed martial artist. Kendall Holt, an American professional boxer.
- Popularity: Kendall ranked 328th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 116th in 2012.
Kendrick
Kendrick has more origin stories than most. The Old English Cyneric gives royal power and Cenric gives bold power, while the Welsh Cynwrig offers chief hero and the Gaelic Mac Eanraig offers son of Henry. Any of those works for a boy expected to argue his own case at the dinner table. Friends will likely land on Ken or Kenny long before the full four syllables get much use outside the classroom. Kendrick Lamar has carried the full name into wide recognition without turning it into a novelty pick. The stack of meanings, hero, power, heir, gives parents room to pick whichever story fits their reasons for choosing it.
- Origin: Welsh, Anglo-Saxon, Scottish
- Meaning: Chief hero, clan leader, son of Henry
- Pronunciation: KEN-drik
- Variations: Kenrick
- Namesakes: Kendrick Lamar, an American rapper. Kendrick Frazier, an American science writer.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kendrick sat at 535th in the U.S., off its 2013 high of 318th.
Kenji
Kenji sets ken, read as healthy, strong or even sharpened intelligence, beside ji, meaning second. Second son is the literal sense, though nobody checks birth order at the door. It moves quickly off the tongue, two clean syllables with no soft landings, and it pairs easily with a longer American middle name to balance the brevity.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Healthy second (son), wise second (son)
- Pronunciation: KEN-gee
- Variations: Kenzi
- Namesakes: Kenji Ito, a Japanese video game composer and musician. Kenji Doihara, a Japanese army general. Kenji Miyamoto, a Japanese figure skating coach, choreographer, and competitive ice dancer.
- Popularity: Kenji ranked 944th among U.S. boys in 2025, a name on the books since 1913 that reached its best showing, 750th, back in 1978.
Kenneth
Kenneth is the Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic Coinneach, meaning handsome or fair, with the Old Irish Cináed behind it too. It sounds formal now, which is exactly what a classic sounds like before it comes back. Ken and Kenny are ready made and have been doing the informal work for a century. It reached 13th in the U.S. in 1939 and still ranks in the 290s, a run almost no name manages.
- Origin: Scottish, English
- Meaning: Handsome, born of fire
- Pronunciation: KEH-neth
- Variations: Kennith
- Namesakes: Kenneth Grahame, a British novelist known for The Wind in the Willows. Kenneth Rogers, an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Kenneth K. Kelley, an American chemist.
- Popularity: Kenneth placed 294th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 1939 best of 13th.
Kenshin
Kenshin carries a large fictional shadow in Rurouni Kenshin, the manga and anime series whose swordsman is how most western readers meet the name. The meanings are gentler than the story suggests, running to healthy, humble and modest truth. Ken and Shin both work as everyday short forms, and both stand up on their own. Living up to a legendary namesake is a lot to ask of a kindergartener, though the name itself asks nothing.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Healthy and humble, modest truth
- Pronunciation: KEN-sheen
- Namesakes: Kenshin Kawakami, a Japanese professional baseball pitcher. Kenshin Sumitaku, a Japanese poet. Uesugi Kenshin, a Japanese feudal lord.
- Popularity: Kenshin ranked 7,964th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 3,791st in 2003.
Kent
Kent takes its name from the English county, which traces to the Celtic cant, for the bordering of a circle, and from there to edge and then coast. That is a softer origin than the flat, no nonsense sound leads you to expect. One syllable names age slowly and never need explaining. Kent pairs cleanly with almost any longer middle name, since a single syllable rarely competes for attention.
- Origin: Celtic, English
- Meaning: Coastal land
- Pronunciation: KENT
- Namesakes: Kent Henry, an American guitarist and songwriter. Kent Nagano, an American orchestral conductor and opera administrator. Kent McWhirter, stage name Kent McCord, an American actor.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kent sat at 1,659th in the U.S., off its 1962 high of 136th.
Kenzo
Kenzo owes much of its reach to the Japanese designer Kenzō Takada, whose fashion house made the name familiar well beyond Japan. The readings gather up humility, health and good sense, usually attached to a third son. There is a confident finish to it, that final o giving a lift most K names lack, and it slides easily next to a one syllable American surname.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Humble third (son), healthy and strong third, wise third
- Pronunciation: KEN-zoh
- Variations: Kenzō
- Namesakes: Emperor Kenzō, the 23rd Japanese Emperor. Kenzo Okada, a Japanese-American painter. Kenzo Kitakata, a Japanese novelist.
- Popularity: Kenzo stood at 630th among U.S. boys in 2025. First recorded in 1920, it hit its high point of 505th in 2022.
Kepler
Kepler transferred from an occupational surname for a hatter, built on the Middle High German kappe. The literal reading, hooded cloak, gives it a slightly secretive air. It still reads mostly as a surname, which is part of why it has stayed rare in U.S. records, ranking best in 2016. The sound is clean and a little bookish, and it shortens neatly to Kep.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Hooded cloak
- Pronunciation: KEH-pluh, KEH-plur
- Variations: Keppler
- Namesakes: Kepler Orellana, a Venezuelan professional tennis player. Kepler Wessels, a South African-Australian cricket and cricket commentator.
- Popularity: Kepler placed 4,195th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2016 best of 2,862nd. Births are up about 100% on the previous decade.
Keshawn
Keshawn is an African American coinage joining the prefix ke to Shawn, the English form of the Celtic name Sean. Sean itself descends from the Hebrew John, so the meaning arrives as Jehovah has been gracious. Shawn makes an easy nickname if the full name ever feels like a mouthful, and decades of American use back up its staying power.
- Origin: English, Hebrew
- Meaning: Jehovah has been gracious
- Pronunciation: kee-SHAWN
- Variations: Keshaun, Keyshawn
- Namesakes: Keshawn Martin, a professional American football (gridiron) player.
- Popularity: Keshawn ranked 3,020th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 555th in 2000.
Keston
Keston started as a surname, most likely joining the Old Scandinavian Ketill to the Old English stān, meaning stone. The suggestion that it is a respelling of Christian rests on little more than the two names looking alike. Kes is the nickname that comes with it, and in Trinidad and Tobago that short form has celebrity standing. Solid, unhurried and almost never heard in an American classroom.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Ketill’s stone, a Christian
- Pronunciation: KESS-tun
- Namesakes: Keston Williams, a Trinidadian international football player.
- Popularity: In 2025, Keston sat at 4,956th in the U.S., off its 2010 high of 2,810th.
Kevin
Kevin is the Anglicized Irish Caoimhín, from Cóemgein, joining cóem, meaning beloved or handsome, to gein, meaning birth. Beloved birth is about as warm as a meaning gets. The name has taken a beating as a punchline in Germany, which is hard on a word that means something so kind. Kevin Hart, Kevin Bacon and Kevin James have all carried the name into entertainment, so a new Kevin joins recognizable company. The German joke has not made a dent in the U.S., where three generations of Kevins have kept it a comfortable, familiar pick. It works equally well shortened to Kev or spoken in full, which is not true of every name this common.
- Origin: English, Irish
- Meaning: Noble birth, beloved birth, handsome birth
- Pronunciation: KEH-vin
- Namesakes: Kevin Hart, an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kevin Bacon, an American actor, and musician. Kevin James, an American comedian, and actor.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kevin at 221st in 2025. It has been listed since 1912 and peaked at 11th in 1963. Births are down about 63% on the previous decade.
Khabib
Khabib is the Avar form of Habib and turns up across Uzbekistan, Russia and Indonesia. English speakers should know the K is silent, so the throaty attempts can stop now. The meaning is simply beloved, which sits oddly and rather nicely beside its best known bearer, the fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov. Anyone who follows mixed martial arts will recognize the name instantly, which cuts both ways for a parent who wants a quieter option. It first entered U.S. records in 2018, so it is one of the newer arrivals on this list. Habib still works as a softer everyday nickname for a boy who would rather not field questions about cage fighting.
- Origin: Avar
- Meaning: Beloved
- Pronunciation: HA-beeb
- Variations: Habib
- Namesakes: Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Russian professional mixed martial artist of Avar descent.
- Popularity: Khabib reached its best U.S. rank yet in 2025, at 7,014th; it has been in the records since 2018.
Khalid
Khalid rests on the Arabic khalada, to last forever, which is where eternal comes from. It is a different name from the Quranic Khaleed, despite the family resemblance. The American singer Khalid has put it in front of a much wider audience. The soft ending gives it an easy landing whether it is said in English or Arabic, which is not true of every name that crosses languages this cleanly.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Eternal, immortal
- Pronunciation: KA-lid, ka-LEED
- Variations: Khaled
- Namesakes: Khalid Robinson, known as Khalid, an American singer-songwriter. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the fourth king and prime minister of Saudi Arabia. Khalid Abdalla, an Egyptian-Scottish actor and activist.
- Popularity: Khalid ranked 940th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 716th in 1994.
Khalil
Khalil reaches the Quran indirectly, through the root KH-L-L, and means friend or close companion. That is a generous thing to call a person you have only just met and will spend eighteen years with. It has been in American use since 1957 and reached its best rank in 1995, so it is established rather than trendy. Warm meaning, easy sound, no spelling battles beyond the h.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Friend, close companion
- Pronunciation: ka-LEEL, kuh-LEEL
- Variations: Khaleel
- Namesakes: Khalil Duhoki, a Kurdish author. Khalil Fong, a Hong Kong-based Hawaiian singer-songwriter and record producer. Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese-American writer, poet, and visual artist.
- Popularity: In 2025, Khalil sat at 384th in the U.S., off its 1995 high of 251st. Births are up about 80% on the previous decade.
Kiefer
Kiefer transferred from a German occupational surname, resting either on the Middle High German kuofe, a barrel, or on kien and forhe, for a pine tree. Barrels and pines give it a woodsy, log cabin quality that few K names have. Kiefer Sutherland has carried it for decades without wearing it out. A kid named Kiefer will likely be the only one on his class roster, which some parents count as a feature rather than a drawback.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Pine tree, barrel maker
- Pronunciation: KEE-fuh
- Namesakes: Kiefer Sutherland, a British-Canadian actor and musician. Kiefer Shackelford, an American Grammy Award-winning pianist. Kiefer Ravena, a Filipino professional basketball player.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kiefer at 11,399th in 2025. It has been listed since 1988 and peaked at 710th in 1991.
Kieran
Kieran is the Anglicized Ciarán, an Irish diminutive of Ciar, meaning black, and it originally described a child with dark hair or coloring. The actor Kieran Culkin fits the description well enough to make the point, and his profile has kept the name visible on American screens. It is soft in the middle and firm at both ends, an easy name to shout across a playground without losing its shape.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Little dark one, black-haired
- Pronunciation: KEE-run
- Variations: Ciaran
- Namesakes: Kieran Culkin, an American actor and brother of Macaulay Culkin.
- Popularity: Kieran reached its best U.S. rank yet in 2025, at 389th; it has been in the records since 1918.
Kilian
Kilian is the Germanic respelling of the Irish Cillian, built on the Old Irish cell, meaning church, with a diminutive ending. A second line runs to the Celtic Ceallach, read as bright headed. Saint Kilian, the missionary bishop, gives it a long history to lean on. The single L version stays rare in U.S. records while the Killian spelling does the commercial heavy lifting.
- Origin: German, Irish, Celtic
- Meaning: Little church, bright-headed
- Pronunciation: KEE-lee-ahn, KIH-lee-un
- Variations: Killian, Cillian, Cillín
- Namesakes: Kílian Jornet, a Spanish athlete. Kilian Elkinson, a Bermudian football player. Saint Kilian, also Cillian or Killian, an Irish missionary bishop and Apostle of Franconia.
- Popularity: Kilian ranked 1,167th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 1,032nd in 2023. Births are up about 226% on the previous decade.
Kim
Kim works as a short form for anything with kim in it, which is how one syllable ended up with so many backgrounds. In Scandinavia it is usually a short form of Joakim or Joachim, from the Hebrew Jehoiakim. In Korea it is one of the most common surnames rather than a given name. For American boys it reached 34th in 1960 and has been rare ever since, which makes it an unexpected pick now.
- Origin: Scandinavian, English, Korean
- Meaning: Raised up by Jehovah, metal, gold
- Pronunciation: KIM
- Variations: Gim
- Namesakes: Kim Kataguiri, a Brazilian politician and activist. Kim Coates, a Canadian American actor. Kim Bodnia, a Danish actor, writer, and director.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kim sat at 4,228th in the U.S., off its 1960 high of 34th.
King
King comes from the Old English cyning, meaning tribal leader, and it spent centuries as a title and a surname before landing on birth certificates. Naming a baby King is a statement, and parents who choose it tend to know that. It reached 147th in the U.S. in 2017 and still ranks in the 400s, so the confidence is widely shared. Dad may want to open negotiations for the crown now.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Ruler, monarch
- Pronunciation: KING
- Namesakes: John King Fisher, an American gunslinger. King C. Gillette, an American businessman and inventor of a bestselling safety razor.
- Popularity: King held 405th among U.S. boys in 2025. On record since 1880, its strongest year came in 2017 at 147th.
Kingsley
Kingsley comes from Cyningesleah, an English surname joining cyning, for king, to leah, meaning woodland or clearing. The king’s meadow is a nicer image than the bare title, and the ley ending softens the whole thing. It peaked in U.S. use in 2016, recent enough to feel current and long enough ago to avoid a crowd.
- Origin: Anglo-Saxon
- Meaning: From the king’s wood or meadow
- Pronunciation: KINGS-lee
- Variations: Cyningesleah
- Namesakes: Kingsley Davis, an American sociologist and demographer. Sir Kingsley Amis, an English novelist and poet. Kingsley Ofosu, a Ghanaian stowaway who survived a massacre.
- Popularity: Kingsley placed 1,096th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2016 best of 584th. Births are up about 122% on the previous decade.
Kingston
Kingston joins cyning and tun, giving king’s town, and it worked as both a place name and a surname long before parents adopted it as a first name. Jamaica’s capital carries it too, which adds a travel flavor that Kingsley does not have. Gwen Stefani’s son Kingston Rossdale gave it a visible push into the American mainstream. King makes an obvious nickname, though plenty of families stick with the full three syllables at home. It reads equally well on a birth certificate or a business card, which is not true of every trendy pick. The stacked consonants in the middle give it a solid, grounded sound that pairs well with a softer middle name.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: King’s town
- Pronunciation: KING-stun
- Namesakes: Kingston Rossdale, son of celebrities Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale.
- Popularity: Kingston ranked 204th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 112th in 2021.
Kinryu
Kinryu means golden dragon, and no list of K names for boys is complete without one dragon. It is rare even in Japan, so the odds of meeting another are slim. Gold and legend in two syllables is a great deal to promise a newborn, and somehow it does not feel excessive. The federal data has never listed it in the U.S.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Golden dragon
- Pronunciation: KIN-ryoo
- Variations: Kinryuu
- Namesakes: Kinryu Arimoto, born Yoshitaka Arimoto, a Japanese actor and voice actor.
- Popularity: The Social Security Administration has never recorded enough Kinryus in a single year to publish a rank.
Kipp
Kipp may come from the English kipper, for a male salmon, though a German topographic origin is likelier, marking someone who lived on a pointed hill. A third reading gives the Middle Low German kip, a bundle of hides, pointing at the fur trade. Salmon, hilltop or hides, it is a cheerful little name whichever way you take it. Either way, it stays short enough to fit neatly on a name tag or a rookie jersey.
- Origin: German, English
- Meaning: Pointed hill/swell
- Pronunciation: KIP
- Variations: Kip
- Namesakes: Kipp Marcus, an American actor, screenwriter, and producer.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kipp at 2,173rd in 2025. It has been listed since 1944 and peaked at 828th in 1964. Births are up about 231% on the previous decade.
Kirby
Kirby belonged to villages long before it belonged to a pink video game character, coming from the Old Norse kirkja, meaning church, and bȳ, a farmstead or village. The Nintendo association is now unavoidable, and for plenty of parents that is a feature rather than a problem. It works on a boy or a girl and shortens to nothing at all, which some families like. Its U.S. high point was 398th back in 1954.
- Origin: Norse, English
- Meaning: Farmstead village by a church, church settlement
- Pronunciation: KUR-bee
- Variations: Kirkby
- Namesakes: Kirby Mack, an American professional wrestler. Kirby Larson, an American writer.
- Popularity: Kirby sat at 3,278th among U.S. boys in 2025, a long way under its 1954 peak of 398th.
Kirill
Kirill is the Russian form of Cyril, which comes through the Greek Kyrillos from kyrios, meaning lord. A stately name does well in a country with a long liturgical tradition, and it stays common across the region. Little lords do tend to make demands, usually involving snacks, and the double L gives it a satisfying weight when said out loud.
- Origin: Russian, Greek
- Meaning: Lord
- Pronunciation: KEE-reel, KEE-rill
- Variations: Kirillos, Cyril, Cyrill, Kyrill, Kiril
- Namesakes: Kirill Kondrashin, a Soviet and Russian orchestral conductor. Kirill Bichutsky, a Russian-American photographer and entrepreneur.
- Popularity: Kirill ranked 4,962nd among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 3,016th in 2014.
Kirk
Kirk is an English and Scottish surname meaning church, from the Old Norse kirkja, and it originally marked someone who lived beside one. One blunt syllable, no soft edges, instantly recognizable. It ranked as high as 138th in the U.S. in 1962 and is now well down the list, which is where the good vintage picks wait. If the sound is too dated for the first slot, it makes the middle name work hard.
- Origin: Norse, Scottish, English
- Meaning: Church
- Pronunciation: KURK
- Namesakes: Kirk Cameron, an American actor. Kirk Hammett, an American musician, band lead guitarist, and songwriter.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kirk sat at 2,551st in the U.S., off its 1962 high of 138th. Births are down about 31% on the previous decade.
Kit
Kit usually starts as a short form of Christopher or Katherine, which gives it bearing Christ and pure to work with. Plenty of nicknames have gone solo and never looked back, and this one has the sound for it. Kit Harington has made it familiar to a generation that might not otherwise have met it. Its best U.S. showing came in 1955, so using it now is a choice rather than a trend.
- Origin: Greek, English
- Meaning: Bearing Christ, pure
- Pronunciation: KIT
- Variations: Kitt
- Namesakes: Christopher Harington, known as Kit Harington, an English actor. Kit Armstrong, an American pianist and composer of British-Taiwanese descent.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kit at 1,103rd in 2025. It has been listed since 1880 and peaked at 787th in 1955.
Kite
In Greenland, Kite is a short form of Kîtiorne, the local version of the Hebrew Gideon. In English it is a surname from the Middle English kete, ultimately the Old English cyta, naming the bird of prey. Anime readers will know the hunter called Kite from Hunter x Hunter, a small pocket of name recognition most American parents will never clock. Said aloud it is a single crisp syllable, easy for a toddler to learn to answer to, and it leaves plenty of room for a longer, more traditional middle name.
- Origin: English, Greenlandic
- Meaning: Bird of prey, feller, hewer
- Pronunciation: KYE-t
- Variations: Kîte
- Namesakes: Jonathan Kite, an American actor, comedian, and impressionist.
- Popularity: Kite has not appeared often enough in any year for the Social Security Administration to publish a rank.
Klaus
Klaus is a short form of Nikolaus, from the Greek Nikolaos, joining nike, for victory, to laos, meaning people. A win for everyone is not a bad description of the day a baby arrives. It reads as continental and slightly glamorous next to the plainer Claus. Santa has the C spelling, so the K is free.
- Origin: German, Greek
- Meaning: Victory of the people
- Pronunciation: KLAH-oos
- Variations: Claus
- Namesakes: Klaus Kinski, a German actor. Klaus von Klitzing, a German Nobel Prize-winning physicist. Klaus Voormann, a German artist, musician, and record producer.
- Popularity: Klaus ranked 2,245th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 1,353rd in 1968. Births are up about 247% on the previous decade.
Klay
Klay is Clay with the fashionable letter swapped, from an English surname for someone who lived or worked near clay. It also serves as a short form of Clayton, meaning clay settlement. Klay Thompson has done more than anyone to make the K spelling look natural. It reached its best U.S. rank in 2016, which is when the swap really caught on.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Clay, clay worker, clay settlement
- Pronunciation: KLAY
- Variations: Clay
- Namesakes: Klay Thompson, an American professional basketball player. Klay Hall, an American animation director and artist.
- Popularity: In 2025, Klay sat at 1,882nd in the U.S., off its 2016 high of 1,632nd.
Klein
Klein comes straight from the German klein and the Yiddish kleyn, both meaning little. It became a surname first and only recently started appearing as a given name. The sound has the same crisp European finish as Stein, which is a large part of the appeal. For a very small person, the meaning could hardly be better matched.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Small, little
- Pronunciation: KLEYE-n
- Variations: Kline, Cline
- Popularity: U.S. records place Klein at 5,506th in 2025. It has been listed since 1984 and peaked at 4,017th in 2013.
Kliment
Kliment is a Slavic form of Clement, from the Latin Clemens, meaning merciful or gentle. It is used across Russia, Bulgaria and Macedonia, and it is easily the most musical of the Clement family. Mercy and gentleness are unfashionable virtues to name a child for, which is arguably the best reason to do it. The federal data has no published rank for it, so you would be first in line.
- Origin: Slavic, Latin
- Meaning: Merciful, gentle
- Pronunciation: KLEE-ment
- Variations: Clement, Klement
- Namesakes: Kliment Kolesnikov, a Russian swimmer. Kliment Taseski, an Australian football player. Kliment Red’ko, a Ukrainian-Russian scientist, avant-garde artist, and graphic artist.
- Popularity: Kliment falls below the SSA’s five-births publication line, so it carries no U.S. rank.
Knox
Knox is a Scottish surname taken from places called Knock, which comes from a Gaelic root, cnoc, meaning round hill. The hard, one-syllable punch of the sound hides a much softer nature name underneath. That contrast, tough sound and gentle hill, is the whole appeal. Parents drawn to short, strong-sounding names rarely expect to land on something this quiet in meaning.
- Origin: English, Scottish
- Meaning: Round hill
- Pronunciation: NOKSS
- Variations: Knoxx, Nox
- Namesakes: Knox Martin, an American visual artist. Knox Chandler, an American musician and instrumentalist.
- Popularity: Knox reached its best U.S. rank yet in 2025, at 196th; it has been in the records since 1881.
Koa
Koa reads as Hawaiian to most people, meaning warrior or valiant one, though it can also be traced to biblical origins, where it named a province and people caught up in a passage of judgment on Jerusalem and Judah. The Hawaiian sense is what most parents mean by it, and the laid back sound carries the courage lightly rather than announcing it. Two open syllables make it one of the softest tough names available, easy for a toddler to say back before he can say much else.
- Origin: Hawaiian
- Meaning: Valiant one, warrior
- Pronunciation: KOH-ah, KOH-uh
- Namesakes: Koa Dumont, son of American guitarist Tom Dumont. Koa Egan, son of Irish singer Kian Egan.
- Popularity: Koa reached its best U.S. rank yet in 2025, at 269th; it has been in the records since 1978.
Kobe
The Japanese etymology of Kobe is genuinely hard to pin down. The likeliest route runs through the city of Kobe in Hyogo prefecture, from Kanbe, an archaic title for supporters of the Ikuta Shrine. In the U.S. the name belongs to one basketball player, and American use surged in 2020 after his death. It ranked best in 2001 and still sits comfortably inside the top 600.
- Origin: Japanese, Swahili, Hebrew
- Meaning: Ikuta Shrine supporter, tortoise, supplanter
- Pronunciation: KOH-beh, KOH-bee
- Variations: Koby
- Namesakes: Kobe Bryant, an American professional basketball player. Kobe Goossens, a Belgian cyclist.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kobe at 519th in 2025. It has been listed since 1989 and peaked at 222nd in 2001. Births are up about 50% on the previous decade.
Koda
Koda is a short form of the Lakota Dakota, meaning friend or ally. Anyone who has watched Brother Bear a hundred times knows Koda as the cub who attaches himself to the hero, which is on the nose in the best way. Kouda also exists as a Japanese surname, read as rice paddy of happiness. Between the movie cub and the surname, it is a name that reads gentle in either language.
- Origin: Native American, Japanese
- Meaning: Friend, companion
- Pronunciation: KOH-duh, KOH-da
- Variations: Kota, Kouda
- Namesakes: Koda Glover, an American professional baseball pitcher.
- Popularity: Koda ranked 411th in 2025, matching its 2023 best.
Kody
Kody is the Anglicized Ó Cuidighthigh, the descendant of the helpful one, and it also works as a form of Mac Óda, son of Odo. Odo traces to the Old High German Otto, meaning wealth or fortune. None of that ancient machinery shows in the finished name, which sounds thoroughly modern and slightly western. The K spelling reads a touch tougher than Cody on a birth certificate, without changing how it sounds out loud. Teachers and coaches rarely need the spelling repeated twice, which is more than can be said for some names on this list. Friends will likely shorten it to Kode regardless of what the birth certificate says.
- Origin: Irish, English
- Meaning: Helpful one, wealth
- Pronunciation: KOH-dee
- Variations: Cody, Kodi
- Namesakes: Kody Alec Clemens, an American professional baseball player. Kody Lostroh, an American professional rodeo cowboy. Kody Swanson, an American professional sprint car racer.
- Popularity: Kody ranked 1,070th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 245th in 1993.
Koen
Koen is short for Koenraad, the Dutch form of Conrad, which joins the Old German kuoni, meaning brave, to rat, meaning counsel. Trimmed down, Koen simply means brave, a rare case of a nickname improving on the original. The Belgian entertainer Koen Wauters has worn it through singing, acting, presenting and racing. It reached its best U.S. rank in 2023, and the Dutch spelling keeps it clearly distinct from Conrad.
- Origin: Dutch
- Meaning: Brave
- Pronunciation: KOH-n, KOH-wen
- Variations: Koert, Coen
- Namesakes: Koen De Graeve, a Belgian actor. Koen Andries, a Belgian scientist and university professor. Koen De Bouw, a Belgian actor.
- Popularity: In 2025, Koen sat at 623rd in the U.S., off its 2023 high of 606th. Births are up about 48% on the previous decade.
Kolapo
Kolapo is a Yoruba name usually read as wealth in abundance, or gathering the wealth together. It is new to most western ears and not at all obscure in Nigeria, a useful reminder of how narrow our lists usually are. Three syllables, all of them open, make it easier to say than it looks. The federal data has never published a rank for it.
- Origin: African
- Meaning: Wealth in abundance, to gather the wealth together
- Pronunciation: koh-LA-poh
- Namesakes: Chief Kolapo Olawuyi Ishola, a Nigerian politician.
- Popularity: The U.S. federal data has never published a rank for Kolapo.
Kolby
Kolby began as a set of place names, then a surname, then a first name, which is the usual route. It joins the Old Norse nickname Koli, for coal or dark, to býr, meaning town. Readings of dark haired in Polish and mace or cudgel in German have also been suggested. It peaked in the U.S. in 2001 and has been sliding gently since.
- Origin: Norse, English
- Meaning: Coal town
- Pronunciation: KOHL-bee
- Variations: Colby
- Namesakes: Kolby Carlile, a professional American Flat Track racer. Kolby Allard, an American professional baseball player.
- Popularity: Kolby came in at 1,225th among U.S. boys in 2025, well off the 359th it reached in 2001.
Kolya
Kolya is the Russian pet form of Nikolai, and like a lot of Russian male nicknames it ends in a. That trips up western expectations, where an a ending usually reads feminine, but it is thoroughly masculine here. The meaning arrives through Nikolai as victory of the people. American records last listed it in 2002, so it stays an insider pick.
- Origin: Slavic, Greek
- Meaning: Victory of the people
- Pronunciation: KOHL-ya
- Variations: Kolja, Colja
- Popularity: Kolya last appeared in U.S. records in 2002, at 11,706th, and ranked best at 4,773rd in 1987.
Konrad
Konrad is very likely the original spelling of Conrad, joining the Old German kuoni, meaning brave, to rat, meaning counsel. Brave counsel is a fine thing to hope for in a son and a rare thing to find in an adult. Kurt and Kuno are both waiting as short forms, one vintage and one unusual. It has been in U.S. records since 1913 without ever becoming common here.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Brave counsel
- Pronunciation: KON-rad
- Variations: Conrad
- Namesakes: Konrad Adenauer, a German statesman and lawyer. Konrad Boehmer, a German-Dutch composer, educator, and author. Konrad Niedźwiedzki, a Polish competitive long-track speed skater.
- Popularity: In 2025, Konrad sat at 2,015th in the U.S., off its 1955 high of 1,284th.
Konstantin
Konstantin looks like the festive, fully decorated version of Constantine. Both descend from the Latin name Constantinus, built on Constans and meaning steadfast. It doubles as a little used surname in Russia and Germany. Steadiness is an underrated quality to name a child for, and this is the most impressive way to say it.
- Origin: Latin, Eastern European
- Meaning: Constant, steadfast
- Pronunciation: KON-stan-tin, kon-stan-TEEN
- Variations: Konstantine, Constantin, Constantine
- Namesakes: Konstantin Korovin, a Russian painter. Konstantin Feoktistov, a Soviet cosmonaut and a space engineer. Konstantin Vsevolodovich, the prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Konstantin at 4,966th in 2025. It has been listed since 1967 and peaked at 2,743rd in 2015.
Korbin
Korbin is Corbin with a harder opening, from a French surname built on corbeau, the word for raven. Anglo Norman influence gives it an English side too, through corb, meaning crow. Either way it described someone with dark hair. Its best U.S. rank came in 2014, and it has eased back since without disappearing.
- Origin: French, English
- Meaning: Raven, dark-haired
- Pronunciation: KOHR-bin
- Variations: Corbin
- Namesakes: Korbin Miles, an American actor. Korbin Sims, a Fijian international rugby league football player.
- Popularity: Korbin placed 1,173rd in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2014 best of 512th.
Koresh
Koresh is a Hebrew form of Cyrus, which reaches back through the Greek Kyros to the Old Persian Kuruš. Suggested meanings run from young to humiliator of the enemy, with cultivator and farmer also proposed, and the Greek kyrios adds lord. Reactions to this one are strong and rarely neutral, so it is worth thinking through before it goes on a birth certificate. The federal data has no published rank for it.
- Origin: Hebrew, Persian
- Meaning: Young, lord
- Pronunciation: KOHR-esh
- Variations: Kyros, Kurush
- Popularity: The U.S. federal data has never published a rank for Koresh.
Kovit
Kovit is a Thai option that stays uncommon and is often misread by English speakers. The meaning, skilled or expert, is one any parent would be glad to hand over. The author Rebecca Schaeffer gave the name to a character in her Market of Monsters novels. If your son turns out to be world class at stacking cups, the name will already fit.
- Origin: Thai
- Meaning: Skilled, expert, knowledgeable
- Pronunciation: KOH-veet
- Variations: Kowit
- Popularity: No published U.S. rank exists for Kovit; it has never cleared the Social Security Administration’s five-birth threshold.
Kratos
Kratos means strength or might, and in Greek myth he was the son of Pallas and Styx, the personification of power itself. The video game antihero borrowed him, which is how most people meet the name today. It gets almost no use, a shame for something this sturdy. American records have listed it since 2008, always deep in the rankings.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Rule, strength, might
- Pronunciation: KRAY-tohs
- Variations: Cratos
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kratos at 7,983rd in 2025. It has been listed since 2008 and peaked at 5,373rd in 2023. Births are up about 62% on the previous decade.
Kree
Kree takes its cue from the Cree, an Indigenous nation based primarily in Canada. For a lot of readers it lands instead as the alien race from the Marvel comics. Either association makes it unusual, and the single syllable keeps it from feeling heavy. It has appeared in U.S. records only since 2012 and remains genuinely rare.
- Origin: Native American, English
- Meaning: Tribal name
- Pronunciation: KREE
- Variations: Cree
- Popularity: Kree placed 3,353rd in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2021 best of 2,050th.
Kristoff
Kristoff reached most western families through Disney, where Frozen’s Kristoff Bjorgman made an obscure spelling suddenly legible. Behind the film it is a form of Christoph, from the Greek Christophoros, meaning bearing Christ. The double f gives it a Scandinavian look that Christopher never had. It has been in U.S. records since 1977 without ever climbing far.
- Origin: Scandinavian, Greek
- Meaning: Bearing Christ
- Pronunciation: KRIS-tuf, KRIS-tof
- Variations: Kristof
- Namesakes: Kristoff St. John, an American actor. Kristoff Raczyński, a Russian-born Mexican actor, film producer, and TV host of Polish descent.
- Popularity: Kristoff ranked 6,297th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 2,887th in 2015.
Kuro
Kuro is the Japanese word for black, and with different kanji, ku for nine and rō for son, it reads as ninth son instead. Very few families will need the second meaning, but it is a good piece of trivia to carry. The sound is short, dark and clean, and it suits a baby with dusky features or none of the above. It has no published U.S. rank.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Black, ninth son
- Pronunciation: KOO-roh
- Variations: Kurō
- Namesakes: Kuro Tanino, a Japanese theater director and playwright.
- Popularity: No U.S. rank is published for Kuro; births have never cleared the Social Security Administration’s five-baby threshold.
Kurt
Kurt is the German short form of Konrad, so it carries brave counsel in a single syllable. In Turkish it stands alone and means wolf, used as both a surname and a given name. Easy spelling and a blunt sound made it a simple import for English speakers. Kurt Cobain is the bearer most people picture, and that is unlikely to change soon. It ranked as high as 109th in the U.S. in 1964.
- Origin: German, Turkish
- Meaning: Brave counsel, wolf
- Pronunciation: KURT
- Variations: Curt
- Namesakes: Kurt Cobain, an American musician for the band Nirvana. Kurt Arvesen, a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer. Kurt van Heerden, known as Kurt Darren, a South African singer-songwriter.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kurt at 2,271st in 2025. It has been listed since 1894 and peaked at 109th in 1964.
Kwang-seon
Kwang-seon is Korean through and through, and it is exceedingly rare even there. The two documented bearers are both South Korean footballers, a coincidence worth a raised eyebrow. The meaning, light and goodness, is warm enough to deserve wider use. Families who want the sound without the spelling questions often park it in the middle slot.
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Light and goodness
- Pronunciation: KWAHng-SAWN
- Variations: Kwang-sun, Gwang-seon
- Namesakes: Kwang-Seon Lee, a South Korean football player. Kwang-seon Kwak, a South Korean football player.
- Popularity: Kwang-seon has yet to appear in U.S. birth records in numbers the Social Security Administration will publish.
Kyle
Kyle comes from a Scottish surname built on place names rooted in the Gaelic caol, meaning narrow or strait, describing a channel between two larger bodies of water. Everyone knows the name, which is not the same as everyone using it. It reached 18th in the U.S. in 1990 and now sits around 509th, so the peak is well behind it and the familiarity is not. That combination is exactly what makes a name wearable again.
- Origin: Scottish, English
- Meaning: Narrows, straight
- Pronunciation: KEYEL
- Namesakes: Kyle Chandler, an American actor. Kyle Busch, an American professional stock car racer. Kyle Okposo, an American professional ice hockey player.
- Popularity: Kyle ranked 509th among U.S. boys in 2025, and ranked best at 18th in 1990. Births are down about 65% on the previous decade.
Kylo
Kylo existed before Kylo Ren appeared on screen, but there is no question about what moved it. It is the fastest riser on this list, up about 3,398 percent when the last decade of U.S. births is measured against the ten years before. The meaning given for it is sky, a good deal gentler than the character. It reached its best rank in 2024 and still ranks in the 400s.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sky
- Pronunciation: KEYE-loh
- Namesakes: Kylo Turner, an American singer for the Pilgrim Travelers. Kylo Evergreen Maris, the son of American entrepreneur and venture capitalist Bill Maris.
- Popularity: In 2025, Kylo sat at 402nd in the U.S., off its 2024 high of 374th.
Kyo
Kyo is one syllable stretched to cover apricot, village, cooperation and capital city, depending on the kanji. That range makes it flexible for a family that wants a specific written meaning. It carries a sense of shared care, which fits the old line about a village raising a child. American records have listed it since 2004 and it stays uncommon here.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Apricot, village, cooperation, capital city
- Pronunciation: KYOH
- Variations: Kyō, Kyou
- Namesakes: Kyo Maclear, a Canadian novelist and children’s author. Kyō Noguchi, a Japanese professional boxer.
- Popularity: U.S. records place Kyo at 10,259th in 2025. It has been listed since 2004 and peaked at 5,595th in 2020.
Kyung-soo
Kyung-soo means bright and flowering, which is a lot of optimism for one name to carry. The singer and actor Kyung-soo Doh, better known as D.O., is the bearer most likely to bring it to western attention. It is rare outside South Korea and has no published U.S. rank. Cheerful, floral and completely unexpected on an American roll call.
- Origin: Korean
- Meaning: Bright and flowering
- Pronunciation: KYUNG-soo
- Variations: Kyoung-soo
- Namesakes: Kyung-soo Doh, stage name D.O., a South Korean singer and actor. Kyung-soo Park, a South Korean TV screenwriter. Kyung-soo Ko, a Korean handball player.
- Popularity: Kyung-soo has no published U.S. rank, sitting under the Social Security Administration’s five-birth reporting line.
