Kayla
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Meaning
modern name combining the sounds kay and la
The story
Kayla's modern English history has a television chapter. Behind the Name explains it as a combination of the sounds kay and la, and reports that its use increased greatly after Kayla Brady appeared on Days of Our Lives in 1982. That is a documented association with the character, rather than a claim that the programme invented the name. A later bearer took Kayla into places far removed from a television set. NASA astronaut Kayla Barron served as a submarine warfare officer before becoming a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. Comparing those environments, she described their dependence on life-support equipment and teams working where people cannot ordinarily live. Recognizing the parallels helped her find the confidence to apply. She also gave the station a practical advantage: windows and a view. A name formed from familiar sounds had acquired an association with some decidedly unfamiliar working conditions.
How popular is Kayla around the world?
In the United States, 6,415 babies were named Kayla between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 36 girls named Kayla were born in 2025, the 130th most common name among girls that year.
Kayla is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, France, Canada, Puerto Rico, England and Wales, Austria, South Australia, Montevideo, Chile, Poland, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico City and Spain.
United States
1 in 3,400
In the United States, 6,415 babies were named Kayla between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kayla peaked in the 1990s. Kayla went to 2,740 US babies in 2015 and 838 in 2025, 31% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 1,500
In Ireland, 36 girls named Kayla were born in 2025, the 130th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 1,900
In Scotland, 24 girls named Kayla were registered in 2024, the 171st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
France
1 in 2,000
In France, about 330 girls named Kayla were born in 2025, the 163rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Canada
1 in 2,400
In Canada, 154 girls named Kayla were born in 2024, the 175th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Puerto Rico
1 in 3,600
In Puerto Rico, 5 babies were named Kayla in 2025, and 97 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
England and Wales
1 in 5,300
In England and Wales, 110 girls named Kayla were born in 2025, the 386th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 5,900
In Austria, 13 girls named Kayla were born in 2025, the 381st most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Kayla in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 girl named Kayla was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Chile
1 in 25,000
In Chile, 7 girls were registered as Kayla in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Poland
1 in 27,000
In Poland, 9 girls named Kayla were born in 2025, the 368th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 31,000
At the 2022 census, 6,401 people in Brazil were named Kayla, ranked 2,309th, with a median age of 10.
Among people named Kayla living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,235 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
1 in 32,000
In Argentina, 21 newborns were given the name Kayla in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Mexico City City
1 in 39,000
In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Kayla in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 74,000
In Spain, 602 residents are named Kayla, ranked 2,024th among women, with a mean age of 8.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Kayla is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2024
Kayla is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Kayla
Most people given the name Kayla in the United States were born between 1990 and 2009. The Kayla you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Kayla deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kayla truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Kayla fits with your family’s names and surname.
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