Kenan
Barely 200 Poles carry it, all of them men, so most here will never meet one. Hebrew at root, tied to a verb for holding, which is why its meaning is given as possession, though in daily use the name belongs to Turkey.
Kenan Pronunciation
Kenan is pronounced KE-nahn (/ˈkɛnan/).
What Kenan means
Where Kenan comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Kenan is a Hebrew name that appears early in the Book of Genesis, where a man of that name stands in the line from Adam toward Noah, the son of Enosh. The name draws on a Hebrew root tied to acquiring and holding, and that is why its short meaning is given as possession.
Yet most people who meet a Kenan today think of Turkey. There it is one of the more familiar men's names, carried by musicians, footballers, and the former president Kenan Evren, the general who ran the country through the 1980s. A Polish family choosing it is reaching for a name that Turkish speakers treat as their own, though its first bearer belonged to Hebrew scripture.
Kenan takes no nickname. On a school register in Poland it stands by itself, four letters with nothing trailing after. What it keeps hold of is its plain sense, possession, and the old Hebrew verb for taking something into your hands.
How many people are named Kenan
1 in 110032 men in Poland is named Kenan. 194 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2274 among male names.
Kenan's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Where Kenan is most popular
Kenan is most popular in Masovian, 510% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025).
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Masovian2 boys born+510%
Kenan as a middle name
Kenan is a first name for 194 men in Poland and a middle name for another 17, a 92/8 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 2233rd, between Kaspar (17) and Kien (17).
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#2231 Justynian17
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#2232 Kaspar17
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#2233 Kenan17
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#2234 Kien17
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#2235 Kundai17