Kyleigh
A feminine name of Scottish origin meaning "boiled over" or "burning meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 19,731 living Americans carry the first name Kyleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kyleigh today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kyleigh births was 2011 (1,172 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kyleigh. 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.
Key insights
- • Kyleigh is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
20K
~ 1 in 17,371 Americans
Peak year
2011
1,172 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2004 SSA rank
#1,069
Tracked since 1978
Census
Kyleigh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 15,936 people with the first name Kyleigh, which placed it at #1,831 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
#1,831
National first-name rank
People counted
16K
15,936 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kyleigh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kyleigh is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Kyleigh 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 Kyleigh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 11,918
- Black or African American10.5% · 1,675
- Two or more races6.9% · 1,102
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 947
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 195
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 99
Gender
Gender distribution for Kyleigh
Out of the 20,001 babies given the name Kyleigh since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Kyleigh as a male name
- Ranked #10,773 in 2004
- 6 male births in 2004
- Peak: 2004 (6 births)
Kyleigh as a female name
- Ranked #1,069 in 2024
- 232 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (1,172 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kyleigh appears almost entirely female. Of the 15,936 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Kyleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kyleigh from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 8,289 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
Kyleigh 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 Kyleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kyleighs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kyleigh, while Alaska, Wyoming, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 381 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kyleigh
The name Kyleigh is a feminine given name of Irish origin. It is a modern variant of the traditional Irish name Cailin, which means "young girl" or "lassie" in Gaelic. The spelling "Kyleigh" emerged in the late 20th century as an Anglicized version of the name.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kyleigh dates back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. While the name Cailin has roots tracing back to medieval Ireland, the specific spelling "Kyleigh" is a relatively recent invention, likely influenced by the popularity of other names with the "leigh" suffix, such as Ashley and Hayley.
Historically, there are no notable figures recorded with the name Kyleigh, as it is a modern variant. However, the traditional Irish name Cailin has been used for centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cailin can be found in the Middle Irish tale "The Adventures of the Sons of the King of Norway," which dates back to the 12th century.
In terms of famous individuals with the name Kyleigh, here are a few notable examples:
1. Kyleigh Kuhn (born 1992) is an American figure skater who competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
2. Kyleigh Potts (born 1992) is an English actress known for her roles in the TV series "Coronation Street" and "Tracy Beaker Returns."
3. Kyleigh Soukup (born 1995) is an American professional soccer player who played for the University of Portland and was drafted by the Utah Royals FC in 2018.
4. Kyleigh Robertson (born 1995) is a Canadian actress known for her role as Nicky Harper in the TV series "The Next Step."
5. Kyleigh Curran (born 1989) is an American actress and singer who has appeared in various TV shows and films, including "True Blood" and "Days of Our Lives."
While the name Kyleigh has gained popularity in recent decades, its origins can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage of Ireland. The name's modern spelling and usage reflect the ongoing evolution and adaptation of traditional names across different cultures and time periods.
People
Kyleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kyleigh 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
Kyleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kyleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19,731 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kyleigh 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 17,371 US residents.
Is Kyleigh a common name?
We classify Kyleigh 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, 20,001 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kyleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Kyleigh was 2011, when 1,172 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kyleigh is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kyleigh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 15,936 people with the name Kyleigh, or 5.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,831 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 Kyleigh 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 Kyleigh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kyleigh appears almost entirely female. Of the 15,936 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Kyleigh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kyleigh is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Kyleigh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kyleigh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (11,918 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 Kyleigh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kyleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kyleigh 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 Kyleigh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kyleigh 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 Kyleigh 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 Americans are named Kyleigh?
Want to know how many people have the name Kyleigh? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.