Mckinley
Meaning
surname from Gaelic 'Mac Fhionnlaigh', son of Fionnlagh ('white warrior')
The story
Mckinley is a Scottish surname, the anglicized Mac Fhionnlaigh, son of Fionnlagh, and Fionnlagh means white warrior in Old Irish. Behind the Name adds a gift for history lovers: the earlier form Findláech was the name of Macbeth's father. In America the surname belongs to President William McKinley, and Behind the Name records the given name as mainly masculine through most of the twentieth century, most common around the times of the president's election and assassination; the male column has never gone missing, not once in 130 years of the record. The modern turn belongs to girls. From 11 in the 1970s, the female count reached 2,365 in the 2000s, overtaking the boys, then 7,219 in the 2010s, against 2,787 so far this decade. Behind the Name reads the shift as probably inspired by names like Mackenzie and McKenna, and its two American chart rows tell the whole arc: 916th in 1966 as a boys' name, 712th in 2025 as a girls'.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Mckinley peaked in the 2010s.
When you meet Mckinley
Most people given the name Mckinley 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.
The Mckinley deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Mckinley 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 Mckinley fits with your family’s names and surname.
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