girls' name ★ peaked 2018

Kensley

Meaning A female given name transferred from the surname Gender Girl · 4% boys Rank 2025 #742 Trend ↓ Falling 44%

A female given name transferred from the surname.

Rank 2025
#742
among girls · ↑3 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
383
named Kensley · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,379
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2018
749 babies
All-time total
9,285
#1,799 all-time among girls
First recorded
1987
in Social Security records

Kensley popularity over time

9,285 babies have been named Kensley since 1987, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s – – – – – –
1970s – – – – – –
1980s 22 6 28 3 – #8,356
1990s 215 39 254 25 +807% #3,261
2000s 938 72 1,010 101 +298% #1,316
2010s 4,945 129 5,074 507 +402% #424
2020s (to 2025) 2,828 91 2,919 487 -4% #454

Where Kensley is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 335 0.21 outside top 500
2027 310 0.19 outside top 500
2028 291 0.18 outside top 500
2029 275 0.17 outside top 500
2030 262 0.16 outside top 500

Where Kensley is most popular

Girls named Kensley per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.265 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Kensley born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 72 1.54 +481%
Alabama 99 1.05 +298%
Louisiana 82 0.937 +254%
South Carolina 65 0.723 +173%
Tennessee 100 0.631 +138%
Georgia 143 0.629 +138%
Arkansas 29 0.549 +107%
Kentucky 40 0.468 +77%
North Carolina 105 0.461 +74%
Missouri 53 0.440 +66%
Maryland 46 0.434 +64%
Virginia 69 0.405 +53%
Michigan 73 0.401 +51%
Ohio 91 0.384 +45%
South Dakota 5 0.350 +32%
Indiana 48 0.342 +29%
Pennsylvania 77 0.326 +23%
Florida 132 0.309 +17%
Texas 208 0.259 ≈ national
Illinois 59 0.258 ≈ national
Wisconsin 23 0.223 -16%
New York 85 0.215 -19%
Iowa 12 0.205 -22%
West Virginia 5 0.191 -28%
Kansas 11 0.191 -28%
Oklahoma 14 0.190 -28%
Oregon 11 0.169 -36%
New Jersey 25 0.139 -48%
California 112 0.133 -50%
Massachusetts 16 0.132 -50%
Minnesota 10 0.093 -65%
Colorado 5 0.045 -83%
Arizona 6 0.043 -84%
Washington 5 0.035 -87%
Alaska – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Kensley

Kensley is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #742 in 2025 with 367 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1987, 9,285 American babies have been named Kensley. Its peak came in 2018, when 749 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Kensley stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kensley?

The median living Kensley is about 8 years old; half are between 5 and 12. An estimated 9,200 people named Kensley are alive in the United States today.

median 8 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Kensley year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 367 #742 16 #5,729
2024 378 #745 19 #5,172
2023 374 #754 14 #6,360
2022 485 #614 16 #5,754
2021 544 #563 10 #7,888
2020 680 #454 16 #5,580
2019 656 #477 13 #6,614
2018 738 #424 11 #7,394
2017 648 #480 14 #6,199
2016 595 #523 12 #6,948
2015 446 #639 8 #9,187
2014 480 #606 14 #6,162
2013 443 #636 16 #5,538
2012 380 #729 13 #6,504
2011 319 #830 12 #6,819
2010 240 #1,043 16 #5,617
2009 184 #1,316 14 #6,288
2008 173 #1,383 17 #5,378
2007 131 #1,685 6 #11,706
2006 81 #2,337 10 #7,744
2005 66 #2,592 6 #10,831
2004 75 #2,318 8 #8,563
2003 67 #2,454 5 #11,890
2002 69 #2,342 6 #10,089
2001 51 #2,861 – –
2000 41 #3,305 – –
1995 18 #5,320 5 #9,633
1990 8 #9,701 5 #8,849
1985 – – – –
1980 – – – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Kensley, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Kensley?

The median living Kensley is about 8 years old. Half of all living Kensleys are between 5 and 12 years old.

How many people named Kensley are alive today?

An estimated 9,200 people named Kensley are alive in the United States, based on 9,285 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Kensley mean?

A female given name transferred from the surname.

How popular is the name Kensley in 2025?

Kensley ranked #742 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 367 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kensley?

9,285 babies have been named Kensley in the United States since 1987, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kensley most popular?

Kensley peaked in 2018, when 749 newborns received the name.

Is Kensley a boy or girl name?

Kensley is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 96% of babies with the name.

Is the name Kensley rising or falling?

Kensley has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Kensley become more popular?

Kensley is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 262 girls named Kensley in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Kensley

Names that sound and feel close to Kensley: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Kensley with similar names → More names starting with K →