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By Linda Rosenkrantz · Sep 2026

Mckinley

OriginScottish
Meaning"son of the fair hero"
Also a girl's nameShow me Mckinley as a girl's name

About Mckinley

New Presidential name, if you're ready to move beyond Lincoln and Jefferson. At the turn of the last century, during the original McKinley's heyday, as a first name it almost reached the Top 100.

As of October 2026, Mckinley ranked #3721 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #137 in 1896.

Editor's take: The name Mckinley is a boy's name of Scottish origin meaning "son of the fair hero".

Popularity & trends

US popularity — history
US rank, lower is more popular · SSA data 2014–2025
Actual · SSA
#2,000#3,000#4,000'14'16'18'20'22'24
20142025
18802025
Data table
YearUS rankBirthsPer million
2014#1,9917237.5
2015#1,9937338.1
2016#2,0796835.8
2017#2,0626836.7
2018#2,4985228.6
2019#2,1416737.3
2020#2,2016336.5
2021#2,2696235.4
2022#2,7004928.1
2023#2,8274526.3
2024#4,3802413.9
2025#3,7213017.6
Popularity history from more than a century of Social Security Administration birth records. Years without a line are years the name fell below the published records.

See the Berry Trend for All Names

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Famous Mckinleys

  • McKinley Morganfield aka Muddy Waters

    American blues musician

  • McKinley Belcher III

    American actor

  • William McKinley

    25th President of the United States

Mckinley in pop culture

  • McKinley Thompson

    main character from Breaking Point

Mckinley in blog posts

Unisex Names That Switched From Boy to Girl

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