The family is American royalty.  But does this surname still wear well in the first spot on a girl?  How ’bout a boy?

Thanks to Sara for suggesting Kennedy as Name of the Day.

From Ryan to Riley, Irish names have been favorites with parents in recent generations.  It’s easy to imagine Kennedy catching on, even if the famous family had worn another name.

Kennedy is an authentic Irish surname, from the Gaelic Cinnéide, Cinnéidigh or Ceannéidigh.  The first part meant head; the ending indicated a deformity, so Kennedy translates to something like “ugly head,” which sounds more like a schoolyard taunt that an inspiring appellation.

Enter the children of Joe and Rose Kennedy.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy – known as Jack to his family and commonly referred to as JFK – became the 35th President of the United States in 1961.  A World War II veteran, Kennedy was young – the youngest ever elected – and the only Roman Catholic.  Speculation continues about the events leading to his November 1963 assassination, but Kennedy is generally remembered as one of our most popular presidents.

As a given name, Kennedy entered the US boys’ Top 1000 in 1960, the year JFK won the White House.  Not only was Kennedy a hero name, it was easy to wear for a boy – Kenneth was a Top 20 pick at the time.  In 1964, Kennedy peaked at #516, then fell.  By 1969, Kennedy had left the charts entirely.

That’s not to say that Kennedy wasn’t still in use.  By the late 1960s, countless schools, parks, townships, streets and the like had been named in honor of the late president.  When JFK’s brother Bobby was assassinated during his run for the White House in 1968, Robert F. Kennedy schools, parks, townships, streets and the like were added into the mix.

But despite the brothers’ memory, Kennedy abruptly fell out of use.  It may be that he never quite caught on – hero names rarely end up in the Top 100.  It’s also hard to gauge the impact of youngest brother Ted Kennedy’s 1969 debacle – the drowning death of a passenger in his car on Chappaquiddick Island.

By 1994, surnames were all the range  A glance at the Top 100 from that year shows:

• Tyler, Cameron, Taylor, Hunter, Blake, Tanner and Spencer in the Boys’ Top 100.
• Taylor, Kelsey and Madison on the Girls’ list.

Kennedy re-entered the charts for both boys and girls, probably encouraged by the death of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in May 1994.

For girls, Kennedy ranked #524 in 1994 and jumped to #230 by 1995.  For boys, Kennedy performed modestly – never reaching higher than #796 and leaving the rankings again after 2005.

It wasn’t just the memory of stylish Jackie O.  MTV featured a female VJ called Kennedy.  While she wasn’t a likely role model, she was visible.

Much like Kenneth encouraged male Kennedys in the 60s, a slew of related names boosted Kennedy for girls in the 90s.  By the time she peaked at #110 in 2007, the following also ranked:

• Mackenzie (and spelling variants)
• Kendall
• Kendra
• Mckenna (and variants)
• Kenzie
• Kenya
• Kennedi (#528 in 2007)
• Kenna
• Kenia

Today, she’s on the decline – slipping to #115 for girls in 2008.

Kennedy probably suffers from the opposite problem of Kelly.  Kelly sounds fresh on a boy again.  But Kennedy is still worn by so many little girls, she might sound tired – regardless of gender.

And yet, on its own merits, Kennedy is an appealing name with rich history.  It’s easy to imagine that Kennedy will be back.