Ken (given name)

Ken is a Japanese name which can have many different meanings depending on the kanji used. Ken is also a masculine given name of Scottish / Scottish Gaelic origin. It is used either as a given name or as a short form of names with the letters "Ken" (like Kenneth, Kenan, Kendrick, Kendall, Kennedy, Mackenzie, Kenson, or Kenelm).

People

 * Ken (musician) (born 1968), Japanese musician and member of the bands L'Arc-en-Ciel and Sons of All Pussys
 * Ken Akamatsu (赤松 健), Japanese author
 * Ken Anderson (quarterback) (born 1949), American quarterback
 * Ken Anderson (wrestler) (born 1976), American professional wrestler known under the ring name Mr. Kennedy
 * Ken Barrie (1933–2016), English voice actor and singer
 * Ken Block (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Ken Bowersox (born 1956), astronaut
 * Ken Bruce (born 1951), Scottish DJ
 * Ken Buesseler (born 1959), American marine radiochemist
 * Ken Burns (born 1953), American documentary filmmaker
 * Ken Caminiti (1963–2004), Major League Baseball player
 * Ken Campbell (1941–2008), English writer, actor, and director
 * Ken Campbell (evangelist) (1934–2006), Canadian evangelist
 * Ken Carlson (born 1951), American politician
 * Ken Casey, bassist of the Boston Irish punk rock group Dropkick Murphys
 * Ken Chan (Filipino actor) (born 1993), Filipino actor
 * Ken Christianson, California based artist and musician, with art collective Elephant Empire
 * Ken Clark (actor) (1927–2009), American actor
 * Ken Clouston, member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
 * Ken Croken (born 1950), American politician
 * Ken Davitian (born 1953), American film and TV actor
 * Ken Dodd (1927–2018), English comedian and singer
 * Ken Doherty (born 1969), Irish professional snooker player, commentator and radio presenter
 * Ken Dyer (1946–2010), American football player
 * Ken Dryden (born 1947), Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former NHL goaltender
 * Ken Flax (born 1963), American Olympic hammer thrower
 * Ken Follett (born 1949), British author of thrillers and historical novels
 * Ken Giles (born 1990), American baseball player
 * Ken Griffey Sr. (born 1950), American baseball player
 * Ken Griffey Jr. (born 1969), American baseball player
 * Ken Ham (born 1951), Australian-born American creationist
 * Ken Harrelson (born 1941), Major League Baseball player and broadcaster
 * Ken Harris (1898–1982), American animator
 * Ken Hendricks, billionaire (1941–2007), president of Hendricks Group
 * Ken Hirai (平井 堅), J-pop singer known for the hit songs "Hitomi wo Tojite" and "POP STAR"
 * Ken Hoang (born 1985), American professional electronic sports player
 * Ken Holtzman (born 1945), American Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Ken Hon, American geologist and head of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
 * Ken Horiuchi (堀内 健), Japanese comedian
 * Ken Hughes (1922–2001), writer and director of films, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
 * Ken Jennings (born 1974), contestant, executive producer and host of the game show Jeopardy!
 * Ken Jeong (born 1969), American comedian, actor and former physician
 * Ken Kelley (American football) (born 1960), American football player
 * Ken Kelley (journalist) (1949–2008), American journalist and publisher
 * Ken Kesey (1935–2001), novelist, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
 * Ken Kirby, Canadian-born actor and screenwriter
 * Ken Klippenstein, American journalist
 * Ken Kratz (born 1960–61), American lawyer, former district attorney of Calumet County, Wisconsin; law license was suspended for four months after sexting scandal
 * Ken Kutaragi (born 1950), President and CEO, later Chairman, of Sony Computer Entertainment
 * Ken Kwaku (born 1946), Ghanaian corporate governance expert
 * Ken Lay (1942–2006), CEO and Chairman of Enron
 * Ken Labanowski (born 1959), American-Israeli basketball player
 * Ken Livingstone, politician (born 1945), former mayor of London, UK
 * Ken Lloyd (born 1976), Japanese-British musician, vocalist and songwriter of Fake? and Oblivion Dust
 * Ken Loach (born 1936), British film director
 * Ken Lutz (born 1965), American football player
 * Ken Matthews (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Ken McAlister (born 1960), American football player
 * Ken McCarthy (born 1959), American activist, educator, entrepreneur and Internet commercialization pioneer
 * Ken McCarty (born 1958), American politician
 * Ken MacLeod (born 1954), Scottish science fiction writer
 * Ken McElroy (1934–1981), American unsolved murder victim and criminal
 * Ken Messer (1931–2018), British painter
 * Ken Miyagishima (born 1963), American mayor
 * Ken Mizuno (水野 剣), Japanese freestyle skier
 * Ken Morrish (1919–2006), former mayor of the city of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
 * Ken Morrison (1931–2017), English supermarket CEO
 * Ken Murray (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Ken Nomura (born 1965), member of the drifting motorsport scene and of the D1 Grand Prix series
 * Ken Okuyama (ケン・オクヤマ), Japanese car designer, creative director of Pininfarina, professor
 * Ken Parrish (born 1984), American football player
 * Ken Penders, American comic book writer
 * Ken Pettway (born 1964), American player of gridiron football
 * Ken Pogue (1934–2015), Canadian actor
 * Ken Ring (rapper) (born 1979), Swedish rapper
 * Ken Robinson (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Ken Rosewall (born 1934), Grand Slam tennis champion
 * Ken Rush (1931–2011), former NASCAR Cup Series driver
 * Ken Russell (1927–2011), film director and actor
 * Ken Rutherford (cricketer) (born 1965), New Zealand cricketer
 * Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941–1995), writer and political activist
 * Ken Schrader (born 1955), NASCAR driver
 * Ken Seals, American college football player
 * Ken Shamrock (born 1964), American mixed martial artist and retired professional wrestler
 * Ken Shimura (志村 けん), Japanese comedian, member of the Drifters
 * Ken Shimizu (清水 健), Japanese male adult video (AV) actor
 * Ken Singleton (born 1947), American Major League Baseball player and commentator
 * Ken Sio (born 1990), Australian Rugby League player
 * Ken Spears (1938–2020), American cartoonist and film producer
 * Ken Spikes (1935–2009), former NASCAR Cup Series driver
 * Ken Spreitzer, computer programmer
 * Ken Starr (1946–2022), American lawyer and judge
 * Ken Stott (born 1954), Scottish actor
 * Ken Sugimori (杉森 建), Japanese illustrator known for his work on the Pokémon video games
 * Ken Takakura (高倉 健), Japanese film actor
 * Ken Terrell (1904–1966), actor and stuntman
 * Ken Thaiday Snr (born 1950), Torres Strait Islander/Australian artist
 * Ken Thompson (born 1943), American computer scientist and one of the primary creators of Unix
 * Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001), founder of the Formula One team Tyrrell Racing
 * Ken Uehara (1909–1991), Japanese film actor
 * Ken Wahl (born 1954), American actor
 * Ken Waldichuk (born 1998), American baseball player
 * Ken Watabe (渡部 建), Japanese comedian and television presenter
 * Ken Watanabe (渡辺 謙), Japanese theater, TV, and film actor
 * Ken Webster (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Ken Whyld (1926–2003), British chess player and author
 * Ken Winey (born 1962), Canadian football player
 * Ken Zheng (born 1995), Indonesian actor, screenwriter and martial artist

Fictional characters

 * Ken Amada (天田 乾), a character in Persona 3
 * Ken (Barbie) also known as Ken Carson, toy doll
 * Ken Barlow, character in the British TV soap opera Coronation Street
 * Ken Cosgrove, a fictional character in the American television series, Mad Men
 * Kenshiro (ケンシロウ) or Ken, hero of the manga and anime series Fist of the North Star
 * Kenshin Himura (緋村 剣心) or Ken, main character of the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin
 * Ken Ryūgūji (龍宮寺 堅), a character of the manga and anime series Tokyo Revengers
 * Ken Hisatsu (久津 ケン), a character in the Juken Sentai Gekiranger
 * Ken Hoshikawa (星川 健), a character in Chikyu Sentai Fiveman
 * Ken Ichijouji (一乗寺 賢), a character in the anime series Digimon
 * Ken Joshima (城島 犬), a character in the anime series Reborn!
 * Ken Kaneki (金木 研), main character of the manga and anime series Tokyo Ghoul
 * Ken Kogashiwa (小柏 健), a character in Initial D
 * Ken Marks, a character in 1993 action/martial arts movie Showdown
 * Ken Masters (ケン・マスターズ), character in the Street Fighter franchise
 * Ken Midori or Kensuke Midorikawa (緑川 ケンスケ), a character in the anime series Beyblade Burst
 * Ken Minami (美波 ケン), character in the anime series Machine Robo Rescue
 * Ken Murphy, a character in the 2009 American romantic comedy-drama movie He's Just Not That Into You, Daphne Zuniga
 * Ken Rosenberg, a character in the Grand Theft Auto video games
 * Ultraman Ken, better known as Father of Ultra, from the Ultraman Series; true name revealed in the film Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend