Kenleigh
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially containing elements meaning "meadow" or "glade".
Name Census estimates that about 2,182 living Americans carry the first name Kenleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kenleigh today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenleigh births was 2014 (203 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenleigh. 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
- • Kenleigh 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
2.2K
~ 1 in 157,083 Americans
Peak year
2014
203 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,901
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Kenleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenleigh 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 1,444 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
Kenleigh 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 Kenleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kenleighs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kenleigh, while Minnesota, Colorado, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenleigh
The given name Kenleigh has its origins in the Old English language, with roots dating back to the 5th century CE. It is a combination of the Old English words "cyne," meaning "royal" or "noble," and "leah," which refers to a meadow or clearing in a forest. Thus, the name Kenleigh can be interpreted as "royal meadow" or "noble clearing."
Kenleigh was a relatively common name among the Anglo-Saxon nobility during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. A landowner named Kenleigh of Wessex is mentioned as holding a substantial estate in the county of Wiltshire.
In the 12th century, a Benedictine monk named Kenleigh of Ely gained recognition for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy. His treatise, "De Natura Rerum" (On the Nature of Things), was widely studied in monastic circles across Europe.
During the Wars of the Roses, which raged intermittently from 1455 to 1487, a knight named Sir Kenleigh Neville fought valiantly for the House of York. His bravery and loyalty were celebrated in several contemporary ballads and chronicles.
In the 16th century, Kenleigh Walsingham, a diplomat and spy in the service of Queen Elizabeth I, played a pivotal role in uncovering the Babington Plot, a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate the Queen and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. His efforts helped secure the Tudor dynasty and earned him a place in the annals of English history.
Another notable figure bearing the name Kenleigh was a Scottish explorer named Kenleigh MacGregor, who embarked on several expeditions to the Arctic regions in the early 18th century. His detailed accounts of the harsh conditions and indigenous peoples he encountered provided valuable insights into the exploration of the far north during that era.
While the name Kenleigh has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a unique and evocative choice, carrying with it a rich historical legacy and a sense of nobility and connection to the natural world.
People
Kenleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenleigh 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
Kenleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,182 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenleigh 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 157,083 US residents.
Is Kenleigh a common name?
We classify Kenleigh as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenleigh was 2014, when 203 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenleigh is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kenleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kenleigh 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.
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.