boy's name
Kyle
KYLE
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 570,838
the United States
#508
2025 births
Kyle is a boy's name of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "narrow strait," taken from a district of Ayrshire. It ranks 124th in Ireland and 508th in the United States, and it is falling everywhere.
- Kyle is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1990, when 22,947 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,426 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kyle over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 19 |
| 1890s | 55 |
| 1900s | 79 |
| 1910s | 454 |
| 1920s | 814 |
| 1930s | 912 |
| 1940s | 1,267 |
| 1950s | 7,471 |
| 1960s | 17,730 |
| 1970s | 33,614 |
| 1980s | 144,366 |
| 1990s | 181,612 |
| 2000s | 76,636 |
| 2010s | 24,666 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,018 |
What Kyle means
Kyle means a narrow strait or channel, from the Gaelic caol. It is a landscape word, and the name describes where a family came from rather than anything about a person.
Where Kyle comes from
Kyle comes from the Scottish Gaelic caol, meaning narrow — the same root behind the Irish Caolán, slender one. A caol is a strait or sound, which is why the west coast of Scotland is full of them: Kyle of Lochalsh, Kyle of Tongue, Kyleakin. Kyle is also a district of Ayrshire, and it is that regional name rather than any single strait that became a surname and then a given name. The name's twentieth-century use is largely American and Scottish, and it peaked in both in the early 1990s. It is unrelated to the Hebrew Kyla and to the modern Kylie, which is Australian, from a Noongar word for a boomerang, though the two are often assumed to be a pair.
Kyle in use
Kyle ranks 124th in Ireland with 44 births in 2025 and 508th in the United States with 611 births, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 1990. Our records carry it from 1881. It appears in every market we hold, including 514th in France with 85 births, which is unusual reach for a Scottish place name and reflects how thoroughly the name went international in the 1980s.
How popular is Kyle?
In 2025, Kyle was given to 611 babies in the United States, ranking #508 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kyle 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 Kyle
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kyle also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kyle over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Kyle 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.
Sibling names for Kyle
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kyle — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kyle
What does the name Kyle mean?
Kyle means "narrow strait," from the Gaelic caol. It is a landscape word.
Is Kyle a place name?
Yes — a district of Ayrshire, which became a surname and then a given name.
Is Kylie the feminine of Kyle?
No. Kylie is Australian, from a Noongar word for a boomerang, and unrelated.
How popular is Kyle?
124th in Ireland and 508th in the United States.
Is Kyle a girl's or a boy's name?
Kyle is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Kyle?
Kyle has 1 syllable.
Is Kyle a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kyle currently ranks #124 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.