Explore the Family Name Kinsley

The meaning of Kinsley

1. English: habitational name from Kinsley in Yorkshire. The placename derives from the Old English personal name Cyne (genitive Cynes) + Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing’. 2. Probably also an altered form of various like-sounding German names, such as Kinzler, Kinseli, Kienzle, Künzli or Künzle (see Kuenzli).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kinsley in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Kinsley has seen minor changes in popularity. In 2000, it was ranked 10,527 but by 2010, its rank had slightly decreased to 10,675, indicating a change of -1.41%. However, while the rank showed a slight decrease, the count of individuals with the surname Kinsley increased from 2,796 in 2000 to 2,996 in 2010, a rise of 7.15%. The proportion of people named Kinsley per 100k also experienced a slight decrease from 1.04 in 2000 to 1.02 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#10,527	#10,675	-1.41%
Count	2,796	2,996	7.15%
Proportion per 100k	1.04	1.02	-1.92%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kinsley

Discussing ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census, there were some significant shifts among those with the surname Kinsley between 2000 and 2010. The largest ethnic identity remained White, although it saw a slight decrease from 93.92% in 2000 to 92.36% in 2010. During this period, the Hispanic population with this surname grew the most, increasing by 54.29% from 1.75% to 2.70%. Those identifying as two or more races also rose significantly, moving from 1.11% to 1.47%. There were smaller increases within the Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native groups.

	2000	2010	Change
White	93.92%	92.36%	-1.66%
Hispanic	1.75%	2.7%	54.29%
Black	1.79%	1.87%	4.47%
Two or More Races	1.11%	1.47%	32.43%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.82%	0.97%	18.29%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.61%	0.63%	3.28%