Kevin

Irish
"handsome"

Kevin Origin and Meaning

The name Kevin is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "handsome".

Kevin came to the US with the large wave of Irish Immigrants after World War I, hitting the US Top 1000 list for the first time in 1921 and never leaving.

Though an ancient Irish name -- a Saint Kevin founded a scholastic monastery near Dublin in the seventh century -- Kevin only became popular in Ireland at the same time it did in the US, when the Irish war for independence restored native Irish names to general use.

The name Kevin was derived from the name Caoimhín, which originated from the Irish elements coém, meaning "handsome," and gein, "birth." The feminine name Caiomhe, anglicized as Keeva, comes from the same origins.

Kevin has been waning in popularity in the US in recent years—it dropped out of the Top 100 for the first time since the Truman administration in 2017—but remains a popular name in countries as diverse as Italy, Mexico, Sweden, and several Eastern European countries. It was the top boys' name in France in the early 1990s—one of the first non-French names to hold the title.

That said, Kevinism has become slang for fleeting name phenomena, typically associated with pop culture trends. Internationally, it's identified as a stereotypical trendy "American" name.

There are many famous Kevins in the public eye, notably Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, and Kevin James. Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, was born Terrence Thomas Kevin O'Leary and founded The Learning Company.

# 186 in the US

Kevin Rank in US Top 1000

# 348 on Nameberry

Kevin Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Kevin Popularity

Famous People Named Kevin

  • Saint Kevin of Glendalough
    Irish abbot
  • Kevin Norwood Bacon
    American actor
  • Kevin Andrew Bridges
    Scottish comedian
  • Kevin Fitzgerald Corrigan
    American actor
  • Kevin Michael Costner
    American actor
  • Kevin Wayne Durant
    American basketball player
  • Kevin Earl Federline
    American dancer
  • Kevin Maurice Garnett
    American basketball player
  • Kevin Darnell Hart
    American actor and comedian
  • Kevin James (Knipfing)
    American actor and comedian
  • (Paul) Kevin Jonas II
    American musician
  • Kevin Kilner
    American actor
  • Kevin Anderson
    American actor
  • Kevin Delaney Kline
    American actor
  • Kevin Wesley Love
    American basketball player
  • Kevin McCarthy
    American actor
  • Kevin Michael McKeehan aka tobyMac
    American Christian singer,songwriter
  • Kevin Edward McHale
    American basketball player
  • Kevin Michael McHale
    American actor and singer
  • Kevin McKidd
    Scottish actor
  • Kevin Nealon
    American actor
  • Kevin O'Leary
    Canadian businessman
  • Kevin Oluwole Olusola
    American singer/beatboxer with group Pentatonix
  • Kevin Elliot Pollak
    American actor
  • Kevin Scott Richardson
    American singer
  • Kevin Michael Rudd
    26th Prime Minister of Australia
  • Kevin Patrick Smith
    American film director and producer
  • Kevin David Sorbo
    American actor
  • Kevin Spacey
    American actor
  • Kevin Tighe
    American actor
  • Kevin Hagan White
    45th mayor of Boston, USA
  • Kevin Edmund "Youk" Youkilis
    American baseball player
  • Kevin "K.O." Olusola
    American musician
  • Kevin Kimmel (b. 1993)
    son of TV host Jimmy Kimmel
  • Kevin Conroy (b. 1955)
    American voice actor
  • Kevin Nash (b. 1959)
    American pro wrestler and actor
  • Kevin Owens (born Kevin Steen in 1984)
    American pro wrestler
  • Kevin Hines
    American author and filmmaker, survivor of a suicide attempt off the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Kevin Kraus
    German footballer
  • Kevin Müller
    German footballer
  • Kevin Lankford
    German,American soccer player
  • Kevin DuBrow
    American singer for Quiet Riot
  • Kevin Hicks (b. 1970)
    16 year old British boy who went and is still currently missing from Addiscombe, UK in 1986
  • Kevin O'Reilly
    Irish Youtuber

Kevin in Pop Culture

  • Kevin
    bird in the Disney/Pixar film "Up"
  • Kevin
    alternate version of narrator Cecil in podcast "Welcome to Night Vale"
  • Kevin Arnold
    character on TV's "The Wonder Years"
  • Kevin Entwhistle
    character in J.K. Rowling's "The Original Forty"
  • Kevin Flynn
    main character of the TRON film
  • Kevin Grant
    character on TV series "Bracken's World"
  • Kevin Khatchadourian
    character in book/movie "We Need To Talk About Kevin"
  • Kevin Langley
    character in movie "Bean" played by Andy Lawrence
  • Kevin McCallister
    main character in "Home Alone" film series
  • Kevin Myers
    character in the "American Pie" series
  • Kevin Price
    main character in musical "The Book of Mormon"
  • Kevin Peyton
    character on TV's "Nurse Jackie"
  • Kevin
    character from TV series "Supernatural"
  • Kevin Copeland
    character in film "White Chicks"
  • Kevin Copeland
    character in "The Mist"
  • Kevin Duval
    a character on TV's "Scream"
  • Kevin Wendell Crumb
    character from "Split"
  • Kevin
    character from "Ed, Edd n Eddy"
  • Kevin
    minion in the "Despicable Me" movies
  • "Cousin Kevin
    " song by The Who
  • Kevin Kellar
    character from the tv series "Riverdale"
  • Kevin Rayburn
    character in Netflix's "Bloodline"
  • Kevin Cozner
    character in TV series "Brooklyn Nine,Nine"
  • Kevin Malone
    character from the show "The Office"
  • Kevin Keene
    aka Captain N: The Game Master, from the NBC Saturday Morning Cartoon "Captain N: The Game Master"
  • Kevin Old
    character in Lemony Snicket's "A Series Of Unfortunate Events" and "File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents"
  • Kevin Brown
    also known as "Agent K", a character from the "Men in Black" movies
  • "Kevin"
    a slang term originating from the website Reddit that refers to a person of low intelligence