Kingston
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The story
Kingston is a description that hardened into a place and then into a person. It means the king's settlement, and English maps carry dozens of them, which is how the same word ended up naming towns in Surrey, Ontario, New York and, most famously, Jamaica. The Jamaican capital is where most of the name's warmth comes from. Its American record is one of the newest in this batch: fewer than 200 babies a decade for the whole twentieth century, about 190 in the 1990s, then 4,600 in the 2000s and more than 25,700 in the 2010s. That is a name arriving from nowhere in one generation. Our own short-form records note King as the obvious cut, a single bold beat, and it is doing quite well as a name in its own right too.
How popular is Kingston around the world?
In the United States, 15,909 babies were named Kingston between 2020 and 2025.
Kingston is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Canada, South Australia, Ireland and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 1,400
In the United States, 15,909 babies were named Kingston between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kingston peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. Kingston went to 2,982 US babies in 2015 and 1,725 in 2025, 58% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 2,600
In New Zealand, 22 boys named Kingston 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 3,600
In Canada, 103 boys named Kingston were born in 2024, the 322nd most common name among boys 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)
South Australia
1 in 4,6002017
In South Australia, 4 boys were registered as Kingston in 2017.
The count never rose above 7 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
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 boys named Kingston were born in 2025, the 676th most common name among boys that year.
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
England and Wales
1 in 49,000
In England and Wales, 12 boys named Kingston were born in 2025, ranked 2,014th 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
Austria
last on record 2020
Kingston 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 2 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)
Scotland
last on record 2023
Kingston is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Spain, 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 the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. 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 Kingston
Most people given the name Kingston 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
Names like Kingston · Names that go with Kingston · Nicknames for Kingston · Climbers and fallers
The Kingston deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kingston 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 Kingston fits with your family’s names and surname.
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