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Kinsley

Kinz-lee
English
"king's meadow"
Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Tue Mar 18 2025

Kinsley Origin and Meaning

The name Kinsley is a girl's name of English origin meaning "king's meadow".

Light and glittery, but with plenty of spirit, Kinsley has risen quickly into the US Top 100. Balanced between preppy and cutesy, it feels like a fresh alternative to Kelly, Kaitlyn, or Kimberly.

Derived from an Old English place name, Kinsley is a modern American choice, meaning "the king’s meadow" or "the clearing belonging to royalty."

Used almost exclusively as a surname up until the 90s, Kinsley didn’t fully enter the mainstream until 2005. Since then, it’s climbed up the charts and is now given to 3000 girls – and to a small handful of boys – each year.

With its crisp sounds and distinctive K initial, Kinsley has appealed to several celebrities. Ice hockey star Ryan Kesler, snowboarder Steve Klassen, the YouTuber Kaylie Varney, Chance the Rapper, and musician Travis Clark have chosen the name for their daughters.

Other notable namesakes include the beauty influencer Kinsley Deborrah, and the heroine of The Alphabet Mysteries series, written by Sue Grafton.

While Kinsley may rank lower on Nameberry charts than it does in the US, it has been chosen for a Babyberry! You can read all about her name here for some real life experience of choosing it.

A current favorite among American parents, and more recently in Canada too, Kinsley blends sweetness and spark. If you enjoy the name, but want something less on trend however, you could try Kerrigan, Keeley, Kizzie, Keziah, or even Tesni.

# 68 in the US

Kinsley Rank in US Top 1000

# 371 on Nameberry

Kinsley Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Kinsley

20 Names Similar to Kinsley

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Famous People Named Kinsley

  • Kinsley Scott Bingham
    male U.S. Senator and governor of Michigan
  • Kinsley Kesler (b. 2013)
    daughter of ice hockey player Ryan Kesler
  • Kinsley Klassen (b. 2013)
    daughter of snowboarder Steve Klassen and subject of a viral video
  • Kinsley Bennett (b. 2015)
    daughter of rapper Chance the Rapper
  • Kinsley James Robinson Clark (b. 2015)
    daughter of actress Jenny Robinson and singer Travis Clark of We the Kings

The name Kinsley in Nameberry Blog Posts