Mckinley
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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'.
How popular is Mckinley around the world?
In the United States, 3,060 babies were named Mckinley between 2020 and 2025.
Mckinley is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 7,100
In the United States, 3,060 babies were named Mckinley between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Mckinley peaked in the 2010s. In US birth records, Mckinley went mostly to boys before the 2000s and mostly to girls in every decade since. In US birth records Mckinley has stayed between 414 and 7,928 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Mckinley in 2017.
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Mckinley in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 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
Canada
1 in 22,000
In Canada, 17 girls named Mckinley were born in 2024, ranked 1,399th 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 200,000
In England and Wales, 3 boys named Mckinley were born in 2025, ranked 5,137th 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
Scotland
last on record 2020
Mckinley 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, Ireland, New Zealand 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 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 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.
Keep exploring
Gender-neutral names · Names that switched sides · Familiar but never popular
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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