Mckenley
Of Scottish origin, a masculine name with uncertain meaning, possibly related to "handsome."
Name Census estimates that about 326 living Americans carry the first name Mckenley. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Mckenley today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mckenley births was 2010 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mckenley. 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.
People living today
326
~ 1 in 1,051,394 Americans
Peak year
2010
41 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2010 SSA rank
#11,705
Tracked since 1920
Gender
Gender distribution for Mckenley
Mckenley leans heavily female at 88.0% of total registrations, but 41 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mckenley as a male name
- Ranked #11,705 in 2010
- 6 male births in 2010
- Peak: 1998 (7 births)
Mckenley as a female name
- Ranked #12,955 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (35 births)
Popularity
Mckenley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mckenley from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 188 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
Mckenley 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 Mckenley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mckenley
The given name Mckenley is a relatively modern name with an obscure origin. It is believed to have emerged as a combination of the Scottish surname McKenzie and the English surname Kenley, both of which have their roots in different geographical locations.
The first part of the name, "Mc," is a common prefix used in Scottish surnames, derived from the Gaelic word "mac," meaning "son." The "Kenzie" portion is thought to have originated from the Scottish Gaelic name "Coinneach," which itself comes from the word "coning," meaning "handsome" or "bright."
The second part of the name, "Kenley," is an English surname that likely originated as a locational name from the village of Kenley in Surrey, England. The name Kenley is derived from the Old English words "cyne" meaning "royal" and "leah" meaning "woodland clearing."
While the name Mckenley does not appear to have any direct historical references or mentions in ancient texts or religious scriptures, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Mckenley is Mckenley Farnsworth (1897-1972), an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation in the 1920s.
Another notable individual with the name Mckenley was Mckenley Johnson (1920-1998), an American civil rights activist and lawyer who played a significant role in the legal battles against racial segregation in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s.
In the field of sports, Mckenley Stallworth (born 1964) was a professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for several teams, including the Los Angeles Clippers and the Boston Celtics, during the 1980s and 1990s.
Mckenley Cartwright (1927-2011) was a British actor and playwright who appeared in numerous television shows and films throughout his career, including the popular sitcom "Dad's Army" in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Finally, Mckenley Griffith (1932-2019) was a Canadian painter and artist known for his abstract expressionist works, which were widely exhibited in galleries across Canada and internationally.
While the name Mckenley may not have a long and storied history, it has been borne by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields, ranging from business and civil rights to sports and the arts.
People
Mckenley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mckenley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mckenley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mckenley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 326 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mckenley 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 1,051,394 US residents.
Is Mckenley a common name?
We classify Mckenley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 341 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mckenley most popular?
The single biggest year for Mckenley was 2010, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mckenley is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mckenley a female name?
Yes, 88.0% of people registered as Mckenley 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.