Find out how popular the last name Kinsley is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kinsley.

Kinsley, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kinsley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kinsley in America

Kinsley is the 10675th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kinsley surname appeared 2,996 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kinsley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kinsley to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kinsley

The surname Kinsley is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "cyning" meaning king and "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing in a forest. It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, possibly as early as the 11th century, in the county of Yorkshire, England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Kyngesleye," referring to a settlement or manor belonging to the king. This suggests that the name may have been initially used to denote a place associated with royalty or the Crown.

During the Middle Ages, the name Kinsley was primarily concentrated in the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is likely that the name was initially adopted by families residing in or near a location known as "Kinsley" or a variation thereof.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Kinsley include John Kinsley (c. 1500-1568), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Ripon in Yorkshire during the reign of Queen Mary I. Another early bearer of the name was William Kinsley (c. 1580-1645), a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of York.

In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records and historical documents, often associated with the villages and towns of Yorkshire. For example, the Kinsley family was recorded as residing in the village of Burnsall in the West Riding of Yorkshire during this period.

Moving into the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Kinsley began to spread across England and even to other parts of the British Isles. One notable figure from this era was Sir John Kinsley (1776-1854), a British naval officer who served with distinction during the Napoleonic Wars and was later appointed as the Governor of the Bahamas.

Another individual of note was Mary Kinsley (1829-1902), a British writer and social reformer who was actively involved in the women's suffrage movement and campaigned for greater educational opportunities for women.

As the centuries progressed, the Kinsley surname continued to be represented across various fields, including literature, academia, and the arts. For instance, James Kinsley (1906-1995) was a renowned English scholar and literary critic, best known for his extensive work on the poetry of John Donne.

While the surname Kinsley is not among the most common in English-speaking countries today, it has a rich history and heritage that spans several centuries, with its origins rooted in the landscapes and cultural traditions of medieval England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kinsley

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kinsley.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kinsley was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kinsley has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kinsley was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kinsley, please contact us.

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