Kayleigh
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Meaning
variant of Kaylee; this spelling popularized by Marillion's 1985 song 'Kayleigh'
The story
Kayleigh is one of the rare names whose spelling has a documented soundtrack. It is a form of Kaylee, but the -eigh version was popularized in Britain by Marillion's 1985 song Kayleigh. The song gives the spelling an unmistakable musical identity. Listeners heard the chorus, saw the word printed, and an unusual spelling became familiar. That is a strong cultural story because the source names the song's role directly. Kayleigh also belongs to a modern family that includes Kaylee, Kaley, and Kayley, each changing the visual style while keeping a similar sound. Kay can serve as a short form, though the full name already feels informal and melodic. Some will love the decorative letters and others will prefer a simpler variant. Either way, Kayleigh captures a specific way names are born: not from ancient roots alone, but from a songwriter, a memorable refrain, and thousands of listeners deciding that a sound deserved a life beyond the recording.
Kayleigh in song
Kayleigh
Marillion (1985)
Fish invented the spelling to disguise an ex-girlfriend's name, the song went to number two in Britain, and a wave of British babies got named after it.
How popular is Kayleigh around the world?
In the United States, 3,245 babies were named Kayleigh between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 21 girls named Kayleigh were born in 2025, the 207th most common name among girls that year.
Kayleigh is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, Scotland, Canada, England and Wales and Spain.
United States
1 in 6,700
In the United States, 3,245 babies were named Kayleigh between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kayleigh peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Kayleigh went to 1,008 US babies in 2015 and 340 in 2025, 34% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 2,600
In Ireland, 21 girls named Kayleigh were born in 2025, the 207th 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
South Australia
1 in 3,7002017
In South Australia, 5 girls were registered as Kayleigh in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 girls named Kayleigh were registered in 2024, the 790th 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
Canada
1 in 19,000
In Canada, 19 girls named Kayleigh were born in 2024, ranked 1,286th 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)
England and Wales
1 in 33,000
In England and Wales, 18 girls named Kayleigh were born in 2025, ranked 1,639th 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
Spain
1 in 1.9M
In Spain, 24 residents are named Kayleigh, ranked 26,844th among women, with a mean age of 27.3 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
Mexico City City
last on record 2019
Kayleigh is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
New Zealand
last on record 2020
Kayleigh 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
Poland
last on record 2014
Kayleigh is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Not on the record in Argentina and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 Kayleigh
Most people given the name Kayleigh in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Kayleigh deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kayleigh 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 Kayleigh fits with your family’s names and surname.
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