Kinlee
A feminine name of American origin meaning "meadow lake".
Name Census estimates that about 2,587 living Americans carry the first name Kinlee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kinlee today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kinlee births was 2014 (235 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kinlee. 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 Kinlee with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Kinlee is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 132,491 Americans
Peak year
2014
235 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,802
Tracked since 1998
Census
Kinlee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,991 people with the first name Kinlee, which placed it at #7,604 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
#7,604
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,991 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kinlee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kinlee is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Kinlee 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 Kinlee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.8% · 1,708
- Two or more races5.8% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 81
- Black or African American2.0% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
Popularity
Kinlee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kinlee from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,762 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kinlee 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 Kinlee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kinlees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Kinlee, while Virginia, South Dakota, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kinlee
The name Kinlee is of relatively modern origin, likely emerging as a combination of the Scottish surname Kinley and the English name Kimberly, both of which have distinct roots. The earliest documented use of Kinlee appears to be in the late 20th century, with no definitive records of its use prior to this time period.
While the name Kinlee itself does not have a clear historical lineage, its components shed light on its potential origins. The surname Kinley is derived from the Scottish Gaelic term "kin laith," which translates to "head of the meadow." This surname was commonly found in the Scottish Highlands and likely originated as a place name or descriptive term for a particular location.
On the other hand, the name Kimberly has its roots in the Old English word "cynebill," which means "royal battle-axe." This name was initially used as a surname in England and later adopted as a given name, particularly in the United States, where it gained popularity in the mid-20th century.
As a relatively new name, Kinlee does not have a rich historical legacy or famous bearers from centuries past. However, a few notable individuals have carried this name in recent times, contributing to its growing recognition and popularity.
One such individual is Kinlee Rachelle Greer, an American actress born in 2006, known for her roles in television shows and movies such as "The Night Shift" and "Dark Harvest." Another notable Kinlee is Kinlee Rose Wilkes, an American social media influencer and content creator born in 2006, known for her family-friendly content on platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
While the name Kinlee may not have a long and storied history, its unique blend of Scottish and English influences, along with its modern appeal, has contributed to its rising popularity in recent years. As with many contemporary names, Kinlee's significance and legacy will likely continue to evolve as more individuals adopt and shape its meaning through their own personal journeys and accomplishments.
People
Kinlee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kinlee 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
Kinlee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kinlee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,587 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kinlee 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 132,491 US residents.
Is Kinlee a common name?
We classify Kinlee as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,609 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kinlee most popular?
The single biggest year for Kinlee was 2014, when 235 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kinlee is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kinlee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,991 people with the name Kinlee, or 0.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,604 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 Kinlee 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 Kinlee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kinlee appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,997 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Kinlee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kinlee is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Kinlee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kinlee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (1,708 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 Kinlee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kinlee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kinlee 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 Kinlee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kinlee 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 Kinlee 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 common is the name Kinlee?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.