2000
#10,527
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,796
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Kinsley
From the Old English "cyneslēag," referring to a king's wood or royal forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,031 Americans carry the last name Kinsley. That puts it at #11,401 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,083 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kinsley surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kinsley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,083
Census rank
#11,401
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,643 bearers of the surname Kinsley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11401st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kinsley
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Kinsley bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kinsley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 2,389
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 85
- Two or more races3.2% · 84
- Black or African American1.4% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kinsley
Kinsley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,675
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,996
+200 bearers (+7.2%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 148 places
2020
#11,401
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,643
-353 bearers (-11.8%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 726 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,527 | 2,796 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,675 | 2,996 | 1.02 | +200 bearers (+7.2%) | Down 148 places |
| 2020 | #11,401 | 2,643 | 0.88 | -353 bearers (-11.8%) | Down 726 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kinsley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,675 | #11,401 | -6.8% |
| Count | 2,996 | 2,643 | -11.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.88 | -13.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kinsley bearers went from 2,996 to 2,643 (-11.8% change). The surname moved down 726 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,675 to #11,401.
FAQ
Kinsley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kinsley?
Name Census estimates that about 3,031 living Americans carry the surname Kinsley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,083 residents.
How common is Kinsley?
Kinsley ranks #11,401 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,643 people with the surname Kinsley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,031), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kinsley.
Has Kinsley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kinsley went from 2,996 recorded bearers to 2,643. That is a decrease of 353 (-11.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,675 to #11,401.
What does the Census say about the background of Kinsley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kinsley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (2,389 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kinsley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kinsley (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kinsley mean?
From the Old English "cyneslēag," referring to a king's wood or royal forest. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kinsley (0.88 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Kinsley?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Kinsley? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.