Ken

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ken"

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɛn/
• (pin–pen merger) IPA^(key): /kɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Homophones: ken; kin (pin–pen merger)

Etymology 1

Proper noun

Ken

1. A diminutive of the male given name Kenneth.
   • 2023 June 21, Haley Talbot and Kristin Wilson, “House votes to censure Democratic congressman who led Trump investigations”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     The vote was 213-209 along party lines. Republican members of the House Ethics Committee – Michael Guest of Mississippi, Dave Joyce of Ohio, Andrew Garbarino of New York, John Rutherford of Florida and Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota – voted present. GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado also voted present but he is not on the Ethics Committee.

2. (colloquial, in combination) Kensington in London.
   • 2003, Rob Humphreys, The Rough Guide to London, page 327:

     Kensington High Street — better known as High Street Ken after the nearby tube — is dominated architecturally by […]

   • 2015, James Sherwood, James Sherwood's Discriminating Guide to London:

     The ladies (and gentlemen) of South Ken and Chelsea do like their raw food, and Daphne's does a terrific tuna tartare with avocado and wild fennel, black figs, gorgonzola and hazelnuts; […]

3. Synonym of Ken doll.
   • 2007, Vanessa Rose Lee, The Beauty Queen and the School Nerd:

     After the ceremony, the "Barbies and Kens" (excluding Tommy and Britney) gathered at Lindsay's mansion to have a barbeque party. They laughed and talked about good times and vowed to remain friends forever.

Derived terms

• Ken Burns effect
• Red Ken

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Proper noun

Ken (plural Kens)

1. A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Ken is the 40144^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 546 individuals. Ken is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (47.44%) and White (34.62%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Ken”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 292.

Anagrams

• nek

Danish

Proper noun

Ken

1. a male given name of English origin

Estonian

Etymology

Borrowed from English Ken, Kenneth in modern times. Also a rare variant of Kents, a short form of Latin Innocentius.

Proper noun

Ken

1. a male given name

Japanese

Romanization

Ken

1. Rōmaji transcription of けん

Norwegian

Proper noun

Ken

1. a male given name of English origin, the short form of Kenneth