Of Scottish-Irish and Japanese origin.
In English Short form of the name Kenneth.
Kenneth is the anglicized form of the names Coinneach and Cináed, meaning handsome and born of fire.
Cináed, known as Kenneth, Mac Alpin, was the king who united the Scots and the Picts in the 9th century.
In Japanese Ken means “strong, healthy”.
Feminine forms of the name are: Kendra, Kenina.
Alternative forms of the name are: Kenneth, Keneth, Kennith, Kenny, Kennet, Coinneach, Cináed.
Famous bearers are Ken Loach, Ken Russell, Ken Watanabe, Ken Jeong, Ken Berry, Ken Leung, Ken Howard, Ken Foree, Ken Griffey Jr., Ken Akamatsu, Ken Block, Ken Bruce.
Ken Watanabe is a Japanese film and theater actor, known for his roles in films such as “The Last Samurai”, “Inception”, “Batman Begins”, “Memoirs of a Geisha”.
In 2006, he won the Best Lead Actor award at the Japanese Academy Awards for his role in the film “Memories of Tomorrow” (Japanese title: “Ashita no Kioku”).
In 2015, he was nominated for Tony Awards for Best Leading Actor, for his role in the Broadway production “The King and I”.
Another famous Ken is English film director Ken Loach.
He is known for his films “Kes”, “My name is Joe”, “Bread and roses”, “Sweet sixteen”, “The Angels’ share”, “Jimmy’s hall”.
His films films, “The wind that shakes the barley” and “I, Daniel Blake” received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.