Kingsley
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Meaning
from an English surname and place name, read as "king's wood" or "king's clearing" in Old English
The story
Kingsley is a place name in Old English, and the sources split on the second half with unusual honesty: Behind the Name's given-name entry reads it as king's wood while its own surname records say king's clearing, so we carry both readings rather than pick a winner. American boys wore it thinly for a century, rarely past 130 a decade, and then the 2010s multiplied the 2000s figure nearly eightfold to about 3,200 boys, with girls arriving too, about 870 that decade. Behind the Name allows that Kingsley Shacklebolt of the Harry Potter films may have given it a minor boost, and the timing fits; we pass the hedge along intact. Regal in the front half, woodland in the back, whichever back you read.
How popular is Kingsley around the world?
In the United States, 2,935 babies were named Kingsley between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 129 boys named Kingsley were born in 2025, the 329th most common name among boys that year.
Kingsley is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, New Zealand, Canada, France, South Australia, Scotland, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 7,400
In the United States, 2,935 babies were named Kingsley between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kingsley peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 4,500
In England and Wales, 129 boys named Kingsley were born in 2025, the 329th most common name among boys 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
New Zealand
1 in 5,200
In New Zealand, 11 boys named Kingsley were registered in 2025.
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
Canada
1 in 7,200
In Canada, 38 boys named Kingsley were born in 2024, the 706th most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 13 girls named Kingsley were born in 2024, ranked 1,709th 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)
France
1 in 7,600
In France, about 85 boys named Kingsley were born in 2025, the 513th most common name among boys 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)
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 boys were registered as Kingsley 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
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 boys named Kingsley were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys 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
Spain
1 in 260,000
In Spain, 174 residents are named Kingsley, ranked 5,192nd among men, with a mean age of 40.9 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
Austria
last on record 2024
Kingsley is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 33 people in Brazil were named Kingsley, ranked 88,550th, with a median age of 34.
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
Ireland
last on record 2023
Kingsley is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: 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 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 Kingsley
Most people given the name Kingsley in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Kingsley deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kingsley 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 Kingsley fits with your family’s names and surname.
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