Kingston
Kingston was the 204th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,725 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 112th with 3,410 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 62 places. More babies were named Kingston in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning king's estate (place name) · Old English
Say it KING-stuhn /ˈkɪŋstən/
- Rank in 2025
- #204 boys, down 86 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,725boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20213,410 babies
- Total since 1880
- 46,599babies recorded
What does the name Kingston mean?
Kingston is a common English place name. Wiktionary explains the English examples as Old English cyninges tun, 'the king's estate or town', referring to manors held by various kings; places named Kingston elsewhere, such as Jamaica's capital and Kingston in Ontario and New York, were named in honor of British monarchs or after English Kingstons. It became a surname, and as a first name it is a recent American choice that also suggests the word king.
cyning (Old English, “king”)tūn (Old English, “estate, settlement”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: King, Kingsley, Kingstyn.
See also: English names, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kingston', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry '-ton', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Kingston', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Kingston
The usual nicknames for Kingston are King. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Kingston in the last five years, 54 were named King, against 166 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| King · also for Kingsley | Modern | #405 | 6,789 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Kingstons go by each one.
Kingston popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 193 since 2007.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #204 | 1,725 |
| 2020 | #118 | 3,182 |
| 2010 | #214 | 1,677 |
| 2000 | #2,781 | 33 |
| 1990 | #5,207 | 10 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | #3,514 | 6 |
| 1940 | #2,769 | 8 |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Kingston, counting every spelling?
Kingston is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #210 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #204 for Kingston on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,860 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | 1,725 | #204 | 12,685 |
| Kyngston | 58 | #2,373 | 393 |
| Kingstyn | 34 | #3,410 | 277 |
| Kingsten | 31 | #3,620 | 196 |
| Kingstin | 12 | #7,019 | 85 |
| Kyngsten | — | — | 31 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Kingston?
1,725 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kingston (0.48 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Kingston born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 5 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kingston.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kingston?
About 46,000 people born in the US named Kingston are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 5 and 13. That makes Kingston a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Kingston by state
How common Kingston was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Mississippi (4.7×), South Carolina (3.5×), Alabama (2.9×), Louisiana (2.9×), Hawaii (2.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kingston: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kingston, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kingston · Sibling names for Kingston
Questions about the name Kingston
What does Kingston mean?
Kingston means “king's estate (place name)” (Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Kingston?
Kingston was the 204th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,725 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 112th with 3,410 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 62 places. More babies were named Kingston in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Kingston a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Kingston in the US.
Where is Kingston most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kingston was most common in Mississippi (6.90 per 1,000 boys), followed by South Carolina and Alabama.