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Kyle

boy name
Origin
Scottish
Syllables
1
Peak era
1990s
Today
▼ Cooling

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Meaning

"narrow strait," from the Gaelic caol, the channels that thread Scotland's west coast; a regional surname that became one of America's defining boys' names of the 1980s and 90s. Compact, coastal, and friendly

The story

Kyle is Scottish geography: the Gaelic caol, a strait or narrow channel of water, found in place names like the Kyles of Bute and in Kyle, the old district of Ayrshire. It stayed a modest Scottish export in America for half a century, then began a long climb in the postwar decades that turned into one of the defining runs of its era. Through the 1980s and into a 1990s peak, Kyle was everywhere: playgrounds, class lists, sitcom credits, one of the signature boys' names of its generation. Since then it has slid steadily, the usual fate of a name so tightly bound to one cohort, and today it sits at roughly the level of the 1970s. Which is not an ending; it is a rest. Sharp, single-syllable and saltwater-cold, Kyle simply waits for the generation that will find it again.

More names with stories →

How popular is Kyle around the world?

In the United States, 5,018 babies were named Kyle between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 44 boys named Kyle were born in 2025, the 124th most common name among boys that year.

Kyle is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, New Zealand, South Australia, Canada, Scotland, France, England and Wales, Austria, Chile, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 4,300

In the United States, 5,018 babies were named Kyle between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1990s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kyle peaked in the 1990s. Kyle went to 2,454 US babies in 2015 and 611 in 2025, 25% of the earlier figure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Ireland

1 in 1,200

In Ireland, 44 boys named Kyle were born in 2025, the 124th most common name among boys that year.

1964peak 2012

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

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New Zealand

1 in 2,700

In New Zealand, 21 boys named Kyle were registered in 2025.

1960peak 19862025

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

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South Australia

1 in 3,100 · 2017

In South Australia, 6 boys were registered as Kyle in 2017.

1944peak 1998

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

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Canada

1 in 3,200

In Canada, 116 boys named Kyle were born in 2024, the 283rd most common name among boys that year.

peak 19912024

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)

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Scotland

1 in 3,300

In Scotland, 14 boys named Kyle were registered in 2024, the 278th most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 20032024

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

See the full list for Scotland →

France

1 in 7,600

In France, about 85 boys named Kyle were born in 2025, the 527th most common name among boys that year.

1980peak 2024

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)

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England and Wales

1 in 11,000

In England and Wales, 55 boys named Kyle were born in 2025, the 658th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19972025

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

See the full list for England and Wales →

Austria

1 in 38,000

In Austria, 2 boys named Kyle were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 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)

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Chile

1 in 180,000

In Chile, 1 boy was registered as Kyle in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.

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

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Spain

1 in 300,000

In Spain, 149 residents are named Kyle, ranked 5,953rd among men, with a mean age of 15.3 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

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Argentina

last on record 2021

Kyle is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

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

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Brazil

At the 2022 census, 78 people in Brazil were named Kyle, ranked 49,053rd, with a median age of 13.
Among people named Kyle living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.

peak 2010s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

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

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Mexico City City

last on record 2020

Kyle is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 8 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

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Montevideo City

last on record 2010

Kyle is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 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

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New South Wales

outside the top 100

Kyle is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.

1980peak 19982025

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

See the full list for New South Wales →

Poland

last on record 2024

Kyle 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 7 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)

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Puerto Rico

last on record 2017

Kyle is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 77 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

1998peak 20172025

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)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Kyle

Most people given the name Kyle in the United States were born between 1980 and 1999. The Kyle you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Kyle

Maxwell Grant Devin Brady Trevor Monroe

Keep exploring

Names like Kyle · Names that go with Kyle · Short names · Climbers and fallers

The Kyle deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kyle 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 Kyle fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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