Kyle (given name)

Kyle is an English-language given name, derived from the Scottish Gaelic surname Kyle, which is itself from a region in Ayrshire (from the Scottish Gaelic caol "narrow, strait").^[1]

The name Kyle is primarily masculine and has been in use as a given name at least since the 1800s. It has been among the top 1,000 names for American boys at different points since 1902, with increases prompted by different media such as American football player Kyle Rote (1928–2002) and his son, soccer star Kyle Rote Jr. (born 1950), and later by the character Kyle Hadley played by Robert Stack in the 1956 film Written on the Wind and the character Kyle Reese played by Michael Biehn in the 1984 film The Terminator. The name peaked in usage for American boys in 1990, when it was in 18th place on the popularity chart.

Kyle also has a history of use as a name for women, with American model and game show panelist "Miss Television" Kyle MacDonnell (1922–2004) being a prominent example. She was at the height of her fame in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The name Kyle first appeared among the top 1,000 names for American girls in 1950 and peaked in usage in 1951, when it ranked 594th on the chart. It remained among the top 1,000 names for girls in the United States until 1990. The similar feminine names Kyla and Kylie, which are often used as variants of Kyle, then became more popular than Kyle for girls.^[2]

The name has also been well used for boys in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.^[3]