Kinleigh
Kinleigh is a feminine name of English origin that means "king's meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 2,092 living Americans carry the first name Kinleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kinleigh today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kinleigh births was 2014 (233 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kinleigh. 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
- • Kinleigh 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
2.1K
~ 1 in 163,841 Americans
Peak year
2014
233 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,346
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Kinleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kinleigh 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 1,540 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
Kinleigh 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 Kinleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kinleighs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Texas, Indiana, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kinleigh, while Wisconsin, West Virginia, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 51 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kinleigh
The given name Kinleigh has its roots in the Gaelic language, originating from the Scottish Highlands during the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Gaelic words "kin" meaning "kin" or "family," and "leigh" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." Together, these elements form the meaning "meadow of the family" or "kin's meadow."
In ancient Scottish lore, the name Kinleigh was often associated with clans or families who resided in or near meadows or clearings. It was a name that carried a sense of belonging to a particular land or territory. Some historians believe that the name may have been used to identify families or individuals who were responsible for maintaining or overseeing these meadows or clearings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kinleigh can be found in the annals of the Clan MacKinnon, a Highland Scottish clan from the Isle of Skye. The name appears in the clan's genealogical records dating back to the 13th century, where a chieftain named Kinleigh MacKinnon is mentioned.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kinleigh. In the 15th century, Kinleigh MacDonald was a Scottish warrior and member of the Clan MacDonald. He played a significant role in the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, where he fought alongside his clan against the combined forces of the Earl of Mar and the Lowland Scottish nobility.
In the 17th century, Kinleigh Campbell was a Scottish writer and poet known for his works celebrating the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. He was born in 1620 and died in 1689. His collection of poems, entitled "The Meadows of the North," was widely acclaimed during his lifetime.
Another notable figure was Kinleigh MacLeod, a Scottish explorer who lived from 1780 to 1856. He is remembered for his expeditions to the Canadian Arctic, where he made significant contributions to the mapping and exploration of the region.
In the 19th century, Kinleigh Fraser was a Scottish entrepreneur and industrialist. Born in 1822, he founded the Fraser Textile Company, which became one of the largest textile manufacturers in Scotland during the Industrial Revolution.
While the name Kinleigh is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of Scottish heritage and culture, reflecting the strong connection between the people and the land they inhabited.
People
Kinleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kinleigh 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
Kinleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kinleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,092 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kinleigh 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 163,841 US residents.
Is Kinleigh a common name?
We classify Kinleigh as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kinleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Kinleigh was 2014, when 233 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kinleigh is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kinleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kinleigh 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.