Kyle
Kyle was the 509th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 594 babies. Its best year was 1990, when it ranked 18th with 22,710 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 335 places. More babies were named Kyle in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning strait, narrows (Gaelic caol) · Scottish Gaelic
Say it KYL /kaɪl/
- Rank in 2025
- #509 boys, down 196 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 594boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 199022,710 babies
- Total since 1880
- 494,713babies recorded
What does the name Kyle mean?
Kyle comes from several places in Scotland and Northern Ireland whose names use Gaelic caol, "narrow, a strait". The Random House dictionary records kyle as a Scottish word for a narrow channel between islands or between an island and the mainland, as in the Kyle of Lochalsh. The place name became a surname and then a first name, common in the US from the 1970s to the 1990s.
caol (Scottish Gaelic, “narrow; a strait”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Kylie, Kyler, Kylan.
See also: Scottish names, names that mean water, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kyle', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Kyle', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Kyle popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 8,933 since 1915, 17 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #509 | 594 |
| 2020 | #313 | 1,056 |
| 2010 | #107 | 3,581 |
| 2000 | #37 | 11,969 |
| 1990 | #18 | 22,710 |
| 1980 | #57 | 5,775 |
| 1970 | #120 | 2,763 |
| 1960 | #220 | 1,263 |
| 1950 | #431 | 239 |
| 1940 | #614 | 94 |
| 1930 | #660 | 89 |
| 1920 | #702 | 85 |
| 1910 | #803 | 15 |
| 1900 | #1,113 | 7 |
| 1890 | #1,086 | 5 |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Kyle, counting every spelling?
Kyle has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #507 for boys in 2025, against #509 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Kyle?
594 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kyle (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Kyle 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 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kyle.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kyle?
About 458,600 people born in the US named Kyle are alive today, with a median age of 34; half are between 27 and 40. That makes Kyle mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
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.
Kyle by state
How common Kyle was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New York (1.7×), Massachusetts (1.6×), Pennsylvania (1.5×), New Jersey (1.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Nebraska, New Mexico, New Hampshire.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kyle: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kyle, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kyle · Sibling names for Kyle
Questions about the name Kyle
What does Kyle mean?
Kyle means “strait, narrows (Gaelic caol)” (Scottish Gaelic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Kyle?
Kyle was the 509th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 594 babies. Its best year was 1990, when it ranked 18th with 22,710 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 335 places. More babies were named Kyle in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Kyle a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Kyle in the US.
Where is Kyle most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kyle was most common in Alaska (1.26 per 1,000 boys), followed by Hawaii and New York.