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NY Post
New York Post
26 Jul 2023


NextImg:Ken has a last name — Barbie fans shocked to learn doll’s full moniker

“Just Ken” isn’t Kenough.

Barbie fans might be shocked to learn that the Ken doll has both a middle and last name — and that he’s named after a real person.

In fact, multiple Barbie dolls — Barbie herself included — are named after real people.

Ken’s full name is Kenneth Sean Carson, and he was named after the son of Barbie creator Ruth Handler, who also co-founded Mattel with her husband Elliot.

The companion doll to Barbie first hit shelves in March 1961 — making him a Pisces, for all those worried about his astrological sign — just two years after Mattel first released the iconic Barbie doll.

The creation of Ken came in response to complaints written to Mattel that Barbie was a single woman, thus making the male doll her counterpart.

A 1961 Original Ken doll wears a bathing suit and a towel.
Mattel/Newsmakers/Getty Images

“Ken was invented after Barbie, to burnish Barbie’s position in our eyes and in the world. That kind of creation myth is the opposite of the creation myth in Genesis,” director of the “Barbie” movie Greta Gerwig told Vogue.

The very first Ken doll sported a red bathing suit and cork sandals, looking ready to hit the beach from the start.

However, the original Ken claimed to be nothing like the beach-bum doll named after him.

“Ken doll is Malibu,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1989. “He goes to the beach and surfs. He is all these perfect American things.”

Meanwhile, Kenneth Handler didn’t do those things. He “played the piano and went to movies with subtitles. I was a nerd—a real nerd. All the girls thought I was a jerk.”

Ken is sold at 12 inches tall — half an inch taller than his girlfriend. The duo is from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin.

The 50th anniversary of the Ken doll is this year and the Lakewood's Heritage Center 20th Century Museum has several Barbie and Ken dolls on display in their atrium.

The very first Ken doll sported a red bathing suit and cork sandals, looking ready to hit the beach from the start.
Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty Images

A Ken doll display is seen during the Barbie: A Cultural Icon Exhibition media and VIP event at The Shops at Crystals on November 11, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada

The Ken doll first hit shelves in March 1961.
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for Barbie: A Cultural Icon Exhibition

But while Barbie and Ken have been long recognized as lovers in toy form and translated on-screen, their namesakes are actually siblings.

Barbie — whose full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts — was named after Handler’s daughter Barbara, Kenneth Handler’s sister.

The iconic plastic doll made her debut on March 9, 1959 — yes, also a Pisces — a means to allow girls to play with a doll that could represent their future beyond the traditional role of a stay-at-home mother.

Ryan Gosling lookalike Ken dolls have been unveiled as he brings Barbieâs boyfriend to life in the eagerly-awaited new movie., In a novel twist, the stars bringing the beloved dolls to the big screen this summer are now being turned into plastic themselves with the Barbie the Movie dolls., Mattel has created two Gosling lookalike Ken dolls, along with several Margot Robbie lookalike Barbies and other key characters from the film, namely President Barbie, Gloria and Ken 2., The Barbie the Movie doll lineâs features and Barbiecore fashion perfectly capture scenes from the film., Fans can get their hands on two versions of Ryan Goslingâs Kens., The Barbie The Movie Ken Doll Denim Matching Set doll is clad in an all-denim look with an open vest and matching light wash jeans, featuring a glimpse of his Ken boxers. , And the Barbie The Movie Ken Doll Pastel Stripe Matching Set wears a beachy, pink and mint green striped matching set and comes complete with a surfboard., Another version of Ken played by Simu Liu comes dressed in a gold and white disco tracksuit., A President Barbie - played in the movie by Issa Rae - wears a full, satin gown with sparkly off-shoulder bodice and shimmery gold accents that trail down her skirt., And America Ferreraâs Gloria looks fierce in a three-pieced pink power pantsuit., The collection also includes a mini replica of Barbieâs iconic pink DreamHouse by MEGA and her pink convertible RC Corvette., The Mattel collection of the movie Barbie products, available in collectible packaging, are now on sale at retailers nationwide and Mattel Shop for an SRP of $1.25 to $150., *BYLINE: Mattel/Mega. 02 Jun 2023 Pictured: The Ryan Gosling-lookalike Barbie The Movie Ken Doll Denim Matching Set. *BYLINE: Mattel/Mega. Photo credit: Mattel/Mega TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342

Ryan Gosling plays Ken in the “Barbie” movie.
Mattel/Mega

Handler also named other dolls in the Barbie line after her children’s partners and her grandchildren, including the lovable discontinued Allan who was named after Handler’s son-in-law.

The first Allan doll was released in 1931, marketed as Ken’s best friend with a selling point that “all of Ken’s clothes fit him!” He was eventually discontinued but has been brought back as a cultural icon thanks to Michael Cera’s portrayal of the doll in the “Barbie” film.

Ruth and Elliott Handler, the couple who introduced the Barbie doll in 1959, holding a Barbie and Ken doll.

Ruth and Elliot Handler, the couple who introduced the Barbie doll in 1959, holding a Barbie and Ken doll.
Bettmann Archive

Now, Barbie and Ken have been brought to life in a whole new way with Gerwig’s blockbuster hit, with Margot Robbie portraying Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken and features other A-list stars and a big soundtrack.

The cultural phenomenon has inspired culture and fashion, dubbed “Barbiecore,” and even contributed to a pink paint shortage.