The most common names of people born in Kentucky
Social Security has recorded about 5.8 million births in Kentucky since 1910 under names it lists. By our estimate, about 3.8 million of those people are alive today, and their average age is 45. The most common names among them are Mary for women and James for men.
These are the names of people born in Kentucky, wherever they live now. Social Security records state of birth, not where people live, so people who moved to Kentucky from elsewhere aren't counted here, and people born here who moved away are.
Women and girls born in Kentucky
| # | Name | Alive today | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 40,000 | 67 |
| 2 | Linda | 21,000 | 72 |
| 3 | Jennifer | 21,000 | 49 |
| 4 | Elizabeth | 19,000 | 47 |
| 5 | Patricia | 18,000 | 70 |
| 6 | Jessica | 16,000 | 39 |
| 7 | Sarah | 16,000 | 41 |
| 8 | Kimberly | 16,000 | 52 |
| 9 | Lisa | 15,000 | 58 |
| 10 | Amanda | 15,000 | 42 |
| 11 | Barbara | 15,000 | 73 |
| 12 | Ashley | 15,000 | 36 |
| 13 | Brenda | 15,000 | 71 |
| 14 | Rebecca | 14,000 | 52 |
| 15 | Donna | 14,000 | 67 |
| 16 | Angela | 14,000 | 52 |
| 17 | Melissa | 14,000 | 51 |
| 18 | Emily | 13,000 | 31 |
| 19 | Betty | 13,000 | 78 |
| 20 | Karen | 12,000 | 63 |
| 21 | Deborah | 12,000 | 67 |
| 22 | Sandra | 12,000 | 68 |
| 23 | Amy | 12,000 | 48 |
| 24 | Sharon | 11,000 | 69 |
| 25 | Stephanie | 11,000 | 47 |
| 26 | Pamela | 11,000 | 64 |
| 27 | Susan | 10,000 | 63 |
| 28 | Anna | 10,000 | 52 |
| 29 | Laura | 9,700 | 52 |
| 30 | Emma | 9,600 | 26 |
Men and boys born in Kentucky
| # | Name | Alive today | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James | 71,000 | 56 |
| 2 | William | 52,000 | 52 |
| 3 | Michael | 51,000 | 51 |
| 4 | David | 43,000 | 55 |
| 5 | John | 43,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Robert | 41,000 | 57 |
| 7 | Christopher | 32,000 | 42 |
| 8 | Charles | 31,000 | 58 |
| 9 | Joseph | 26,000 | 47 |
| 10 | Joshua | 22,000 | 35 |
| 11 | Matthew | 21,000 | 36 |
| 12 | Thomas | 21,000 | 53 |
| 13 | Timothy | 19,000 | 50 |
| 14 | Richard | 18,000 | 59 |
| 15 | Daniel | 17,000 | 44 |
| 16 | Jason | 16,000 | 44 |
| 17 | Mark | 16,000 | 56 |
| 18 | Jacob | 16,000 | 26 |
| 19 | Steven | 16,000 | 51 |
| 20 | Larry | 15,000 | 66 |
| 21 | Anthony | 15,000 | 46 |
| 22 | Kenneth | 15,000 | 59 |
| 23 | Donald | 15,000 | 65 |
| 24 | Gary | 15,000 | 64 |
| 25 | Brian | 14,000 | 47 |
| 26 | Andrew | 14,000 | 34 |
| 27 | Paul | 14,000 | 60 |
| 28 | Kevin | 13,000 | 48 |
| 29 | Brandon | 13,000 | 35 |
| 30 | Jeffrey | 13,000 | 53 |
Average ages here are for people with the name born in Kentucky, not the national average.
Names more common in Kentucky than nationally
Among living people born in Kentucky, these names make up a bigger share than they do nationwide. Wilma is 5.8× as common among people born here as among all Americans.
| # | Name | Vs. national | Alive today | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilma | 5.8× | 2,900 | 78 |
| 2 | Donnie | 4.9× | 3,000 | 64 |
| 3 | Billy | 3.7× | 9,900 | 63 |
| 4 | Shelia | 3.4× | 1,900 | 66 |
| 5 | Bobby | 3.4× | 8,400 | 64 |
| 6 | Wanda | 3.3× | 7,100 | 75 |
| 7 | Billie | 3.2× | 2,500 | 67 |
| 8 | Thelma | 3.1× | 1,700 | 78 |
| 9 | Ronnie | 3.1× | 5,600 | 64 |
| 10 | Patsy | 3.1× | 2,500 | 77 |
| 11 | Waylon | 3.0× | 2,200 | 9 |
| 12 | Betty | 2.9× | 13,000 | 78 |
| 13 | Vickie | 2.9× | 3,600 | 66 |
| 14 | Phyllis | 2.9× | 5,300 | 76 |
| 15 | Danny | 2.8× | 8,300 | 63 |
The newest Kentucky babies
The most popular names for babies born in Kentucky in 2025, with the average age of everyone in the US who has each name.
Girls
About these numbers
Social Security publishes names by state of birth for births from 1910 on, listing a name only when at least five babies of the same sex got it in the state that year, so rare names are missing. We estimate how many of those babies are alive with SSA's national cohort life tables (there are no state tables), and count a name as a girls' or boys' name by which sex has more living people born here. “Vs. national” compares the name's share of living people born in Kentucky with its share of all living Americans in the national records. How we calculate this