girl's name
Kyla
KY-luh
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 52,159
the United States
#580
2025 births
Kyla means a narrow strait if it comes from Kyle, and the Scottish word behind that names a specific kind of water — a channel between an island and the mainland, as at Kyle of Lochalsh.
- Kyla is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 2004, when 2,044 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 6,475 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1940.
Kyla over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 20 |
| 1950s | 221 |
| 1960s | 542 |
| 1970s | 1,524 |
| 1980s | 4,072 |
| 1990s | 8,379 |
| 2000s | 16,085 |
| 2010s | 9,474 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,386 |
What Kyla means
Kyla means a narrow strait or channel, taken as a feminine of Kyle. A Hebrew source meaning crown is also offered, and the two accounts have nothing in common.
Where Kyla comes from
Kyla is generally a feminine of Kyle, from the Scottish Gaelic caol — narrow, and as a noun a strait or channel, which is why Kyle of Lochalsh sits where it does. A separate account derives it from a Hebrew word for a crown, which would make it unrelated. Kyle itself is a district of Ayrshire before it is anything else, so the name is regional in origin rather than descriptive. Our records carry Kyla from 1940.
Kyla in use
Kyla peaked in the United States in 2004, when 2,044 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 338th in Scotland on 10 births, 366th in Northern Ireland, 502nd in Ireland on 7, 580th in the United States on 512 and 781st in England and Wales on 47, across 52,159 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. Scotland ranks it highest, which the etymology would predict.
How popular is Kyla?
In 2025, Kyla was given to 512 babies in the United States, ranking #580 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kyla is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Kyla
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kyla also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kyla over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Kyla in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Dutch
- Kyle
Sibling names for Kyla
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kyla — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kyla
What does the name Kyla mean?
A narrow strait — the Scottish Gaelic caol, through Kyle.
Is there a Hebrew origin?
A word for a crown is sometimes offered, unrelated to the Scottish account.
Is Kyle a place?
Yes — a district of Ayrshire, before it was a personal name.
Where is Kyla most used?
Scotland at 338th, which the etymology would predict.
How popular is the name Kyla?
In 2025, Kyla was given to 512 babies in the United States, ranking #580 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Kyla a girl's or a boy's name?
Kyla is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Kyla most popular?
Kyla peaked in 2004, when 2,044 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Kyla a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kyla currently ranks #338 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.