Kenji

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: various depending on the Kanji used
• Most Common Kanji: 健二
• Usage outside Japanese culture: Dutch, English, French
• Japanese/Eng pron: (KEN-jee)

Kenji is a Japanese male name with various meanings depending on the kanji used. One common traditional spelling is 健二, composed of 健 (ken), meaning “healthy; strong,” and 二 (ji), meaning “two; second.” The name can also be written with numerous other combinations of kanji, which would alter its meaning.

Although Kenji remains a familiar name in Japan, it is now considered somewhat dated and is more closely associated with the Shōwa generation than with contemporary Japanese babies.

Kenji’s use in Western countries appears to have several different causes rather than one universal namesake.

In the United States, its recent rise closely coincides with the growing mainstream popularity of Japanese entertainment. Anime, manga, Japanese video games and streaming television have made names such as Kenji, Ren, Kenzo and Hiro much more familiar to parents without Japanese ancestry.

A more specific American influence may have been Kenji Kon, a principal character in Netflix’s animated series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, which premiered in 2020. Kenji entered the U.S. Top 1000 that same year at #910, rose to #845 in 2021 and peaked at #754 in 2022. The timing makes the character a plausible contributor, though it cannot be proven as the sole cause. Chef and food writer J. Kenji López-Alt has also made the name increasingly familiar to American audiences.

The American figures do not show an uninterrupted surge, however. After peaking in 2022, Kenji fell to #827 in 2023, #854 in 2024 and #944 in 2025.

France experienced a separate, earlier spike. Kenji was given to 165 French boys in 2014, its most successful year there. This almost certainly reflects the sudden fame of French singer Kendji Girac, who won The Voice: la plus belle voix in 2014. Although his name is spelled Kendji, his popularity likely encouraged both Kendji and the established Japanese spelling Kenji. French use subsequently declined.

In Belgium and the Netherlands, Kenji’s popularity has a much more specific explanation: Kenji Gooris, the son of Flemish singer Sam Gooris and television personality Kelly Pfaff.

Kenji Gooris was born in 2001 and became nationally recognizable as a young child through the Flemish reality series De Pfaffs, which began in 2002 and followed the family of footballer Jean-Marie Pfaff. The program was also broadcast in the Netherlands.

The effect in Belgium was immediate. By 2004, Kenji had newly entered the Flemish Top 100 at #89. Contemporary Belgian reporting explicitly credited the rise of both Kenji and his sister’s name, Shania, to the popularity of the Pfaff family.

The Belgian use was overwhelmingly concentrated in Flanders, rather than French-speaking Wallonia or Brussels. This shows that it was not primarily connected to Kendji Girac, whose fame came a decade later. Kenji is now declining in Belgium; only 18 Flemish boys received it over the five-year period covered by the latest available figures.

In the Netherlands, Kenji had been used occasionally since the 1990s but became noticeably more frequent around 2007. Since De Pfaffs was also shown on Dutch television, Kenji Gooris probably contributed to the Dutch increase as well, although the evidence is more circumstantial than in Belgium. Approximately 700 Dutch boys and men now bear the name.

Sources

• Behind the Name. “Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Kenji.” Last updated July 18, 2025. https://www.behindthename.com/name/kenji.
• Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE). “Fichier des prénoms: Prénoms attribués aux enfants nés en France depuis 1900.” Published July 16, 2026. https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8595130.
• Het Nieuwsblad. “Pfaffs maken van Shania en Kenji populaire namen” [The Pfaffs Make Shania and Kenji Popular Names]. September 10, 2004. https://www.nieuwsblad.be/binnenland/pfaffs-maken-van-shania-en-kenji-populaire-namen/54137895.html.
• 24Baby. “Kenji: Herkomst en betekenis van de naam Kenji” [Kenji: Origin and Meaning of the Name Kenji]. Accessed August 21, 2026. https://www.24baby.nl/babynamen/kenji/.
• Social Security Administration. “Change in Name Popularity: Names That Decreased from 2024 to 2025.” Accessed August 21, 2026. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/popularity_decrease.html.
• Social Security Administration. “Popular Baby Names.” Accessed August 21, 2026. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/.
• Statbel. “Prénoms des filles et des garçons nés depuis 1995” [Given Names of Girls and Boys Born Since 1995]. Microsoft Excel dataset. Accessed August 21, 2026. https://statbel.fgov.be/sites/default/files/files/documents/bevolking/5.10%20Namen%20en%20voornamen/5.10.%203%20Voornamen%20meisjes%20en%20jongens/Voornamen_Geboorten_1995-.xlsx.
• Statbel. “Population—Info Flash: Les prénoms les plus donnés en 2003” [The Most Frequently Given Names in 2003]. Bulletin de statistique, July–August 2004. https://doc.statbel.fgov.be/publications/S000.A2/S000.A2F_Bull_stat_2004_07-08.pdf.