It’s a Weird Time to Be Named Ken

We are in the midst of a Ken-naissance.

“Barbie,” the summer’s $1 billion blockbuster, has brought a boy’s name last popular in the 1960s back from extinction. “I’m Just Ken,” Ryan Gosling’s rock-opera anthem from the film’s soundtrack, entered Billboard’s Hot 100 chart last week with 5.2 million streams in the U.S., and Ken-themed merchandise is flying off the shelves. Critics are saying Barbie’s boyfriend is the breakout star of the film.

Real-life Kens are suddenly hearing their names a lot more. It’s an adjustment for people like Kenny Braasch, a band talent manager and former “Bachelor in Paradise” contestant, who are used to being part of a small brotherhood.

“It’s like we’re our own people,” he said. “There really isn’t a lot.”

According to data from the Social Security Administration, Ken (not Kenneth) peaked in 1960, the year before the Ken doll was created. Since then the name has seen a steady decline in use, officially dropping out of the top 1,000 names in 1995. Only 49 American babies born last year were given the name Ken, according to name experts.

The name’s relative rarity has put many men named Ken under an unusual spotlight.

“Every now and then, I get the whole ‘He’s just a Ken,’” said Ken Yee, a 54-year-old engineer in northern California. “Usually it’s a friend giving me a hard time.”

“A couple of days ago, a friend of mine said, ‘Hi Ken, where’s Barbie?’” said Kenneth Johnson, a 67-year-old Dallas resident. It’s a reaction known to many with famous-duo names, like Bonnie and Clyde or Romeo and Juliet.

The film portrays Ken as Barbie’s pure-hearted, horse-loving sidekick who craves validation and a higher purpose in life. In the run-up to the film’s release, billboards played into the idea of “Ken” as a put-down—“he’s just Ken”—while listing Barbie’s many achievements. Ken also begins the movie as Barbie’s lackey, incapable of leadership or taking care of himself.

For Kenneth Azortibah, a 23-year-old freelance artist in Accra, Ghana, being a Ken on the opening night of “Barbie” meant several hours of squirming. As everyone gathered outside the theater after the movie ended, he kept getting confused by people shouting “Hi Ken!”

It didn’t help that his friends had been peppering him with Ken puns in the weeks leading up to the movie, he added. Even after the movie, they continued to pelt him with lines like “I’ve had Ken-ough.”

“I Ken-not with all of those puns,” Azortibah said. 

Kendra King, a 21-year-old student in Athens, Ga. who often goes by Ken, said she started getting jokes from friends questioning whether she was a Barbie or a Ken months ago when the first trailer dropped. 

“Well, I am Ken, and I’m a Barbie, so what does that make me?” she said. 

She decided to lean into the Ken of it all and ordered a hoodie with the slogan “I am Kenough” (a reference to the film) and is currently on the hunt for a hoodie that says “Can you feel my Kenergy.” On Etsy, there are more than 8,000 listings for “I am Kenough” products, according to a spokeswoman for the site. Mattel’s now sold-out official “I am Kenough” hoodie sold more than 100,000 units within 10 days of release, according to a spokesman.

Some Kens said they had been hit with Ken doll jokes since childhood. 

“I’ve obviously had all of the Ken jokes over the years,” said Ken Biddulph, 41, an automotive consultant in Phoenix. 

“I can specifically remember in first or second grade, someone said, ‘Oh, your name’s Ken? Where’s Barbie?’” he recalled. 

Some of the comments got stranger as he got older, Biddulph said.

“If I put in any sort of effort to look decent, and somebody met me and I would introduce myself, I’ve had some people say, ‘Well of course your name’s Ken, looking the way you do!’” he said.

“It’s just all part of the package,” he added. 

Kenneth Sean Carson, the doll most people know simply as Ken, was introduced in 1961 as Barbie’s male counterpart and boyfriend. Barbie and Ken were named for Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler’s children (which, technically, would make Barbie and Ken siblings). 

The name Kenneth has Scottish origins, name experts said, and means handsome, or born of fire. Several experts said they associated the name with older men, particularly All-American types. 

“The vibes of Ken to me are very cool, but cocky,” said Steph Coffield, a name consultant in Minneapolis, Minn. “He gives off the vibe of the popular guy at school, but also very dense and full of himself. He wears sweaters over his shoulders.”

Azortibah said he felt strangely exposed by some of Ken’s attributes in the film, especially during a scene where the Kens attempt to impress the Barbies by playing the guitar. He had gone to see “Barbie” with his friends and a girl he was dating. On their first date, he had whipped out his own guitar to play “Best Part,” by Daniel Caesar and H.E.R. 

“She was looking over at me, and I was sinking into my seat,” Azortibah said. 

“It’s almost like an allergic reaction,” King said of hearing her name scattered without warning. “It feels like they’re talking about me.” 

If name trends are any indicator, she may soon find herself in good company as a female Ken. 

“When it comes to naming babies, we see time and time again that parents are happy to embrace more masculine name trends for their daughters, but the same can’t be said for giving sons names that are associated with femininity,” said Morgan Kline, a name consultant. 

“A lot of the people having babies now are in the generation that was raised by Kens,” she added. “Given the primary age group of the Kens in the world, the timing is right for a comeback.”

Write to Ashley Wong at [email protected]