Kisley last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Kisley

An anglicized variant of the Irish surname Ó Cíosalá, meaning descendant of Cíosalá.

Kisley, 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 Kisley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kisley in America

Kisley is the 118853rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kisley surname appeared 146 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kisley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kisley 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 118853 107038 10.46%
Count 146 154 -5.33%
Proportion per 100k 0.05 0.06 -18.18%

The history of the last name Kisley

The surname Kisley is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "cis" meaning "chance" and "leah" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived or worked in a meadow or clearing that was acquired by chance or good fortune.

The earliest known records of the name date back to the 13th century, with references found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1273. The name appears to have been concentrated primarily in the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire, during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Kisley was Robert Kisley, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301. Another early bearer of the name was William Kisley, whose name appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1348.

In the 15th century, the name is found in the records of the Cartulary of the Priory of St. Bees in Cumberland, where a John Kisley is mentioned in 1438. The surname also appears in the Charters of the Priory of Hexham in Northumberland, with a reference to a Richard Kisley in 1469.

A notable individual bearing the Kisley surname was Sir Thomas Kisley, who lived in the late 16th century and served as a member of Parliament for the borough of Northallerton in Yorkshire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Another historical figure with the surname Kisley was John Kisley, a prominent clergyman who was born in Yorkshire in 1632 and served as the Archdeacon of York from 1685 until his death in 1701.

In the 18th century, the name appears in various parish records across northern England, with individuals such as William Kisley, who was born in Lancashire in 1721, and Mary Kisley, who was baptized in Yorkshire in 1763.

While the Kisley surname is relatively uncommon today, it has a rich history rooted in the northern counties of England, with records dating back to the medieval period and connections to prominent individuals in various fields throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kisley

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

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 Kisley was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 98.63% 144
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Kisley has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 98.63% 96.10% 2.60%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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 Kisley was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Kisley last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 13, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kisley-surname-popularity/.

"Kisley last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kisley-surname-popularity/. Accessed 13 May, 2025

Kisley last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kisley-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.