Kyle

What Kyle means

Means “narrows”

From several places in Scotland and Northern Ireland, derived from Gaelic caol (“narrows”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Kyle” (revision 93604512), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Kyle?

US: Falling: down from #174 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #151 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1990, when 22,710 boys got the name (#18 that year). First in the US records in 1881.

How common

• About 1 in 2,876 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,944 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,034 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NY (0.76 per 1,000 boys), AR (0.64 per 1,000 boys), IN (0.54 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Kyle is #508 in the US and #658 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 97.2% of US babies named Kyle were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Cole2,003 US · 289 E&W
• Kole160 US · 23 E&W
• Kal60 US · 6 E&W
• Cale47 US
• Kol24 US
• Gale13 US
• Kale11 US
• Kel5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Kyle

Boys

• Brandon#261“broom shrub + hill, dune”^*
• Ryan#99Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 29,905 babies; 3,532 in 2025
• Curtis#984“polite, courteous”^*
• Mitchell#952Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1994, with 5,370 babies; 245 in 2025
• Tyler#219“tiler”^*
• Dillon#929Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1992, with 5,062 babies; 253 in 2025

For a sister

• Shelby#649Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1991, with 10,220 babies; 444 in 2025
• Ashley#164“ash tree + wood, clearing”^*
• Tiffany#878Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1988, with 18,364 babies; 304 in 2025
• Kelsey#814Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #343 in 2015, #814 in 2025
• Kimberly#302Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #108 in 2015, #302 in 2025
• Taylor#403From the word “tailor”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Kyle’s. Rank is US 2025.