| Legend | King | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | a legend; a renowned story or person | king |
| Origin | english | english |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | LEJ-end | king |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| First appeared | 1993 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2021 (3,186) | 2017 (2,696) |
| In 2025 | 1,862 | 786 |
| Trend | Rising | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Legend | King |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 15,594 | 9,057 |
| 2010s | 9,278 | 20,440 |
| 2000s | 787 | 1,950 |
| 1990s | 146 | 439 |
| 1980s | 0 | 335 |
| 1970s | 0 | 316 |
| 1960s | 0 | 454 |
| 1950s | 0 | 708 |
| 1940s | 0 | 818 |
| 1930s | 0 | 801 |
| 1920s | 0 | 998 |
| 1910s | 0 | 795 |
| 1900s | 0 | 277 |
| 1890s | 0 | 233 |
| 1880s | 0 | 229 |
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.
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.
Legend is more popular than King today: about 1,862 US babies were given the name Legend in 2025, compared with 786 named King.
Legend means a legend; a renowned story or person (english origin), while King means king (english origin).
In US records, Legend first appears in 1993 and King in 1880, so King has the longer recorded history.