Given name & surname
Kjell
“of the cauldron”
Kjell is a variant of Kettil. One Swedish interpretation is “of the cauldron.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kjell is a variant of Kettil. One Swedish interpretation is “of the cauldron.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Kjell is a variant of Kettil. An origin associated with Kettil is Old Norse.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Swedish use, Kjell is used as a contracted form of Kettil.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1958. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kjell through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 360
- 360 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1968
- 15 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2014. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 651 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kjell’s family of names
In German usage, Kjell is a short form of Kjetil. In Norwegian usage, Kjell shares a linguistic root with the Danish form Keld. In Norwegian usage, Kjell has a related form in Ketil.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Kjell has relatives in 3 languages.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Kjell
- Stefan LöfvenSwedish politician, Prime Minister of Sweden between 2014–2021born 1957
- Kjell Magne Bondevik33rd Prime Minister of Norwayborn 1947
- Kjell WestöSwedish-speaking writer and journalist from Finlandborn 1961
- Kjell N. LindgrenAmerican astronautborn 1973
- Kjell AskildsenNorwegian writer (1929–2021)
- Kjell ScherpenDutch association football playerborn 2000
- Kjell Eugenio Laugerud GarcíaPresident of Guatemala; of Norwegian parentage (1930-2009)
- Kjell BäckmanSwedish speed skater (1934–2019)
- Kjell GredeSwedish film director and screenwriter (1936–2017)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kjell, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Donnell
“ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior”
>99% boys
Darrel
“one who is dearly loved”
>99% boys
Jens
“God is gracious”
>99% boys
Jameel
“a handsome man”
>99% boys
Ken
“born of fire” · “handsome, fair one”
>99% boys
Bryon
Bryon is a masculine given name from Irish.
>99% boys
Nils
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Raffaele
“one who is healed by God” · “the divine healer”
>99% boys