| King | Legend | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | king | a legend; a renowned story or person |
| Origin | english | english |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | king | LEJ-end |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1993 |
| Peak year | 2017 (2,696) | 2021 (3,186) |
| In 2025 | 786 | 1,862 |
| Trend | Rising | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | King | Legend |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 9,057 | 15,594 |
| 2010s | 20,440 | 9,278 |
| 2000s | 1,950 | 787 |
| 1990s | 439 | 146 |
| 1980s | 335 | 0 |
| 1970s | 316 | 0 |
| 1960s | 454 | 0 |
| 1950s | 708 | 0 |
| 1940s | 818 | 0 |
| 1930s | 801 | 0 |
| 1920s | 998 | 0 |
| 1910s | 795 | 0 |
| 1900s | 277 | 0 |
| 1890s | 233 | 0 |
| 1880s | 229 | 0 |
The English vocabulary word 'king' (Old English 'cyning') used directly as a given name. A transferred surname/word-name rather than an etymological 'king' name from another root.
A modern word-name taken straight from the English word 'legend' (ultimately from Latin 'legenda', 'things to be read'). It is an aspirational virtue/word name with no older history as a personal name.
Legend is more popular than King today: about 1,862 US babies were given the name Legend in 2025, compared with 786 named King.
King means king (english origin), while Legend means a legend; a renowned story or person (english origin).
In US records, King first appears in 1880 and Legend in 1993, so King has the longer recorded history.