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Kenai

Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.

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Meaning

Flat land or meadow, in the Alaskan place-name association.

The geographic entry gives meadow; the municipal history describes a Dena’ina flat-land stem in the Kenaitze naming account. These related landscape explanations are retained as geographic associations, not one universal literal personal-name meaning. No cultural identity, temperament or traditional personal naming practice is inferred.

Origin

Alaskan geographic association with Dena’ina roots.

The exact geographic entry traces Kenai through Russian Kenaj to Dena’ina kena, meadow. The City of Kenai historical account independently describes a flat-land stem in the local naming history. These document a geographic association available to modern name use, not proof of any family’s naming intention, a traditional Dena’ina personal name or a bearer’s ancestry.

English pronunciation

Not yet published for this spelling.

Published name usage

Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.

Latest published record available for this spelling in each place and recorded usage
PlaceYearRecorded usagePublished birthsRankNotes
Canada2025Boys36 · preliminary7412025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
France2011Boys5 (rounded to 5)5467Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published.
England & Wales2025Boys72952Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
United States2025Girls613208Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.
United States2025Boys377710Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.

Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.

Sources & notes

Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.

Meaning: Flat land or meadow, in the Alaskan place-name association.

Checked against cited source

The geographic entry gives meadow; the municipal history describes a Dena’ina flat-land stem in the Kenaitze naming account. These related landscape explanations are retained as geographic associations, not one universal literal personal-name meaning. No cultural identity, temperament or traditional personal naming practice is inferred. Credit: Wiktionary contributors; adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names. Separate spelling-specific statistics are retained.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Origin: Alaskan geographic association with Dena’ina roots.

Checked against cited source

The exact geographic entry traces Kenai through Russian Kenaj to Dena’ina kena, meadow. The City of Kenai historical account independently describes a flat-land stem in the local naming history. These document a geographic association available to modern name use, not proof of any family’s naming intention, a traditional Dena’ina personal name or a bearer’s ancestry. Credit: Wiktionary contributors; adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names. Separate spelling-specific statistics are retained.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

View original source

This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Supporting evidence: City of Kenai: Dena’ina-related local naming history

Checked against cited source

Credit: City of Kenai, Imagine Kenai 2030 Comprehensive Plan, July 2016, adopted January 3, 2017, printed page 14 (PDF page 21). Its settlement history explains a Dena’ina flat-land stem in Kenaitze and distinguishes the local people’s own name. This corroborates landscape context, not traditional personal-name use. No images, maps or municipal prose reproduced and no open license asserted for the whole plan. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; source rights retained. Separate spelling-specific statistics are retained.

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Original factual summary; source rights retained

country_CA

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country_FR

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Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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U.S. Social Security Administration

Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration

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Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

License: Statistics Canada Open Licence

Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

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Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.

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