Kinley
A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the royal meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 19,695 living Americans carry the first name Kinley. It is a predominantly female name (98.2% of registrations). The average person named Kinley today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kinley births was 2012 (1,769 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kinley. 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 Kinley with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kinley is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 354 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Kinley is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
20K
~ 1 in 17,403 Americans
Peak year
2012
1,769 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2023 SSA rank
#617
Tracked since 1917
Census
Kinley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 15,846 people with the first name Kinley, which placed it at #1,838 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
#1,838
National first-name rank
People counted
16K
15,846 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kinley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kinley is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Kinley 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 Kinley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 13,850
- Two or more races4.9% · 774
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 556
- Black or African American2.6% · 419
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 142
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 105
Gender
Gender distribution for Kinley
Kinley leans heavily female at 98.2% of total registrations, but 354 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kinley as a male name
- Ranked #11,606 in 2023
- 6 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2011 (25 births)
Kinley as a female name
- Ranked #617 in 2024
- 483 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (1,750 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kinley leans strongly female. 15,448 people counted with this name were female (97.5%), compared with 393 male bearers (2.5%).
Popularity
Kinley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kinley from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 13,483 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
Kinley 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 Kinley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kinleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Missouri recorded the most babies named Kinley, while Delaware, Connecticut, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 394 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kinley
The name Kinley is believed to have its origins in the Scottish Gaelic language, with roots dating back to the medieval period in Scotland. It is derived from the Gaelic words "kin" meaning "head" or "chief" and "leagh" meaning "physician" or "healer." The combination of these words suggests that Kinley may have been a name given to those who held positions of leadership or authority in the field of medicine or healing practices.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kinley can be found in the historical records of the Scottish Highlands from the 15th century. It was a surname used by a family of physicians and healers who served the clans and communities in the region. Over time, the surname Kinley evolved into a first name, particularly in the Scottish Highlands and Isles.
In the 16th century, there are accounts of a Kinley MacLeod, a renowned healer from the Isle of Skye, who was known for his expertise in traditional Scottish herbal remedies and folk medicine. His skills and knowledge were highly regarded, and he was often sought out by clan leaders and the local population.
During the 17th century, the name Kinley gained further prominence with the birth of Kinley MacKenzie (1633-1691), a Scottish minister and scholar from Ross-shire. He was known for his contributions to religious literature and his efforts in promoting education in the Highlands.
Another notable figure bearing the name Kinley was Kinley Dorje (1628-1692), a Tibetan Buddhist master and the 25th Abbot of the Ngor Monastery in Tibet. He was renowned for his teachings on Buddhist philosophy and his dedication to preserving the traditional Tibetan Buddhist practices.
In the 19th century, Kinley Tenzin Norgay (1829-1904) was a Sikkimese-Tibetan Buddhist monk and scholar who played a significant role in the cultural and spiritual life of Sikkim. He was recognized for his expertise in Buddhist teachings and his efforts in promoting education and literacy in the region.
While the name Kinley has its roots in Scottish Gaelic and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, it has since been adopted and used across various cultures and regions around the world. However, its historical origins and associations with healing, leadership, and spiritual teachings remain an integral part of its meaning and significance.
People
Kinley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kinley 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
Kinley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kinley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19,695 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kinley 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 17,403 US residents.
Is Kinley a common name?
We classify Kinley as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19,898 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kinley most popular?
The single biggest year for Kinley was 2012, when 1,769 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kinley is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kinley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 15,846 people with the name Kinley, or 5.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,838 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 Kinley 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 Kinley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kinley leans strongly female. 15,448 people counted with this name were female (97.5%), compared with 393 male bearers (2.5%). 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 Kinley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kinley is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Kinley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kinley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (13,850 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 Kinley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kinley a female name?
Yes, 98.2% of people registered as Kinley 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 Kinley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kinley 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 Kinley 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 Kinley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.