Kendrick

Kendrick first hit the American male naming charts in 1964 but didn’t see most of its popular usage until the 1980s. That’s when Kendrick was at his peak success. Since the 1990s and into the 21st century, this is a name on the decline. Although mainly considered an English, Welsh or Scottish surname, Kendrick has been embraced within the African-American community in particular. Interestingly, other names of Scottish origin (e.g., Malcolm, Kelvin) have also been embraced among Blacks. What’s noteworthy about this is that the American Blacks and Scots share an interesting history. In colonial times, Scottish Presbyterians came to this new land to escape religious persecution back at home. It was they who introduced Christianity to the African slaves in the Carolinas and taught them their way of celebrating and worshiping through song. In the Scottish-Gaelic tradition of psalm singing, a psalm is called out and the congregation sings a response. This is perhaps the root of African-American gospel music. This same academic study by a Black professor of ethno-musicology (Willie Ruff) also concludes that Scottish-Gaelic (not English) was actually the first non-African language spoken by Black slaves. In any case, Kendrick is a name used mainly by Blacks in America, but it is also a great choice for any “son of Henry”.