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Keshon vs Kesley

American parents have registered 1,288 Keshons since 1880, against 741 Kesleys. But in 2025 it was Kesley that was commoner, 14 babies to 8.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Keshon against Kesley, 1880 to 2025 0 30 60 90 120 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Keshon Kesley

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 47 years in which either name was published, Keshon for 32 years and Kesley for 15 years. The lead changed hands 7 times.

Side by side

  Keshon Kesley
Total US births 1,288741
Most in one year 11141
Babies in 2025 814
Estimated living today 1,300730
Median age today 2326
Peak year 20001990
Best rank 1,247th boys3,156th girls
Rank in 2025 8,910th7,491st
First recorded 19751975
Girls / boys 48 / 1,240674 / 67

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Kesleys alive today are over 26; half the Keshons are over 23. That is 3 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Keshon and Kesley.