Kayleen
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "beautiful, wise maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 7,436 living Americans carry the first name Kayleen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kayleen today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kayleen births was 2010 (284 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kayleen. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kayleen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
7.4K
~ 1 in 46,094 Americans
Peak year
2010
284 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,565
Tracked since 1934
Census
Kayleen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,258 people with the first name Kayleen, which placed it at #3,378 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,378
National first-name rank
People counted
6.3K
6,258 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kayleen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kayleen is White at 50.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (36.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kayleen described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kayleen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.4% · 3,154
- Hispanic or Latino36.5% · 2,283
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 362
- Two or more races2.8% · 176
- Black or African American2.7% · 171
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 112
Popularity
Kayleen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kayleen from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,966 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kayleen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kayleen by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kayleen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kayleens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Kayleen, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 150 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kayleen
The name Kayleen is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name Caitlín, which is a diminutive form of the name Caitríona. Caitríona itself is derived from the ancient Irish name Cathair, meaning "battle" or "contention." The earliest recorded use of the name Kayleen dates back to the late 19th century.
The name Kayleen has its roots in Celtic mythology and folklore. It is believed to have been associated with the warrior goddess Cathbhuaidh, who was revered for her strength and courage in battle. The name was particularly popular among Irish families who valued these qualities in their daughters.
In ancient Irish texts, such as the Annals of Ulster and the Annals of the Four Masters, there are mentions of women bearing similar names like Caitlín and Caitríona. However, the specific spelling "Kayleen" is a more modern variation that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kayleen was Kayleen Byrne, an Irish-American actress born in 1888. She appeared in several Broadway productions and silent films during the early 20th century. Another notable Kayleen was Kayleen Thompson, an Australian novelist and poet born in 1926, who gained recognition for her works exploring themes of identity and cultural heritage.
In the realm of sports, Kayleen Pritchard, a Canadian figure skater born in 1942, represented Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. Kayleen Conaghan, an Irish golfer born in 1967, won the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit in 1991.
Additionally, Kayleen Halko, an American poet and writer born in 1962, has gained acclaim for her collections exploring themes of feminism, nature, and spirituality. Her works include "The Breath Between Us" and "The Flower of Awakening."
Throughout history, the name Kayleen has been associated with strength, resilience, and a connection to one's cultural roots. While its origins lie in ancient Celtic traditions, it has evolved to become a name embraced by families across various cultures and backgrounds.
People
Kayleen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kayleen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kayleen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kayleen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,436 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kayleen going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 46,094 US residents.
Is Kayleen a common name?
We classify Kayleen as "Rare". It ranks above 97.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,925 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kayleen most popular?
The single biggest year for Kayleen was 2010, when 284 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kayleen is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kayleen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,258 people with the name Kayleen, or 2.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,378 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kayleen in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kayleen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kayleen appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,263 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kayleen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kayleen is White at 50.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (36.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kayleen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kayleen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.4% (3,154 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kayleen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kayleen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kayleen in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kayleen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kayleen in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kayleen can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Kayleen?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Kayleen, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.