Sandwiched between the very current Kai and the nouveau Kyler, this choice begins to feel like a modern classic.
Thanks to Skye for suggesting our Name of the Day: Kyle.
Many parents are more conservative when they name their sons, hewing to the enduring classics – John, Joseph, William. Others like the idea of choosing a familiar appellation, but want something more modern. Kyle is one that fits the bill.
He’s been in the US Top 100 since 1974, and while he’s fallen considerably from his peak of #18 in 1990, Kyle remains a steady, sensible choice with Scottish flair. He’s weathered even better in the UK, where he’s remained closer to the Top 50.
The meaning is usually given as channel or strait, from the Gaelic caol. You’ll still find bodies of water called Kyle in Scotland today.
There’s also Scotland’s Kyle District, complete with the ruins of Kyle Castle. The district was folded into another county in 1889. Places called Kyle remain on the map in the US, Canada and Australia.
But the region suggests yet another possible meaning for Kyle, as stories suggest it was named after Old King Cole. Before the merry old soul inspired his nursery rhyme, he was a semi-legendary King of the Britons. Cole traces back to the Roman Coelius or perhaps Caelestis. The latter survived as Celestine and means heavenly.
Today Kyle is quite down to earth. He’s worn by NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and actor Kyle MacLachlan. There’s also South Park’s Kyle Broflovski and ABC Family’s Kyle Trager on Kyle XY.
While you won’t find many Grandpa Kyles, the name has been in use for well over a century, probably in part because Kyle is also a surname. Back in the 1920s and 30s, Beatrice Kyle was a world famous high diver, performing stunts all over the globe. Television presenter Jeremy Kyle hosts a British version of The Jerry Springer Show. When she was first introduced, the cartoon Catwoman was the secret of identity of whip-carrying burglar Selina Kyle.
The Ky sound remains quite current. Kai, which is either Hawaiian or Germanic in origin, first charted in the US in 1979. Inventive parents mashed together Kyle and Tyler to get Kyler in the mid-1980s. On the girls’ side Kylie, Kylee and Kyleigh all rank in the US Top 1000, as do Kyla and Kylah, plus Sky, Skye and Skyla. Skylar and Skyler chart for both genders.
All those spin-offs are probably Kyle’s weakness. In fact, kreaatif applications of the letter have tarnished even those names that legitimately start with K.
But if you can overlook the possibility that your son might sometimes share a classroom with Skyleah or Kyson, the name offers up an appealing compromise. While his history is undeniable, he’s very much a modern name. His sister could be the equally sensible Melissa or Rachel as easily as the intriguing Scottish Elspeth or Isobel.
While Kyle is no longer trendy, that’s his strongest asset.
Nope. Can’t like him. I grew up with about a hundred Kyle dudes and while it’s turning into a lovely classic (ala Kenneth), he’s a bit too middle aged for this gal (I’m partnered witha Kenneth, I would never use it on a baby today, either). I also know one female Kyle and while I’m not fond of it on her at all, she’s a lovely woman. I don’t know, Naming a boy Kyle today strikes me the same as Kevin, Douglas or Scott. All Middle ages guys to me. Lovely enough but not fresh or interesting enough for me. (Actually Douglas doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the other two, maybe I knew less of them?) Weird.
Kyle’s better than Aidan, as far as I’m concerned (my apologies to anyone with an Aidan) so if I ran into a little Kyle, I would probably be more surprised than shocked or outraged. Kyle’s okay but just.
Unfortunately, Kyle has become purely female for me, as my college roommate was a female Kyle. All in all, it’s a nice name, just not for me.
Lamentably, not a fan of Kyle. I think it’s just the sound of the word that puts me off. Too close to guile, bile, piles… and not just because of these unfortunate associations; but it’s actually an uncomfortable word to get your mouth around. Ask an indigenous Asian speaker to say it and it will probably come out closer to ‘Carl’. The female version, Kylie, is marginally better, because she smiles at the end whereas Kyle slouches. I get a kind of serpentine vibe from this word. Not for me.
I have to say, I agree with the others, Kyle is not for me. I’m not sure what it is – BNB probably gets closest to the reason for me. It’s the sound. I wouldn’t be surprised or anything to run into a Kyle child. It’s a name I wouldn’t think twice about – kind of like most of the well-used classics (think Michael, John)… yep, it’s a name.
I’m tired of K names! It is nice to see that Kyle has a surprizingly long history, though.
I like Kyle but it never made it into my lists for MY kids’ names. My first boss named her first-born daughter Barbara Kyle in the early 70s. Barbara was after a friend; Kyle she used simply because she liked it although even she thought of it as a boy’s name.
Kyle and Ryan are two that strike me more and more as popular gender neutral choices, though I think they both still wear well on boys.
The K really is an issue, isn’t it? But overall, I still think he qualifies as a modern Michael or Christopher – perfectly wearable, just not exciting. Friends of ours chose it for exactly that reason. They wanted a “normal” name *and* wanted to break away from family naming traditions.
It will be interesting to see how Kyle fares in, say, 2040. Will he be forgotten or will he be in the midst of a revival?
I can’t get excited about him either, Bnb and Jne have already touched upon the main reason and that’s the sound – so harsh! I don’t know, he just feels a bit flat to me.
Not among my favorites, but I never mind running into a Kyle.. I know one who is about 5, but too me it does not sound middle-aged.. more like a 20 to 30 something. I never ran into any among people my age (40s). Kevin and Scott, now, are certainly sounding middle-aged. . though I have a cousin Kevin in his early 20s. Several Kyles among the contemporaries of my 20-30′s cousins.. friends of Jason, Justin and Evan.
While doing a funny little google search about names that I found on facebook I came across this website, and I gotta be honest the internet never ceases to amaze me. I’m guessing this is a site about prospective baby names, or perhaps a blog I didnt diligently track down its origin. I was amazed to hear what people think of my name, and those who share it. My parents liked it because of its celtic origins, and its rather less than used status. I can say I only ever met about 2 other Kyles, and I live in a city of 350,000 people. I was particulary interested to see the person providing the alliteration for the name, bile and pile. To point out to this person, it also rhymes with smile. I guess youd need to be a cup half full kind of person to see that one
. As for the Asian dialect not meshing with the name, i can attest to that. I had a japanese exchange student sophomore year of college and he never got close to saying my name lol. All in all I kinda like my name, i mean its better than its terribly close cousin “Lyle”. I guess the take home message from this one is give us Kyle’s a chance, we arent half bad. And also to all future parents looking for names, the name you give your kid isnt half as important as the love. I for one still think Rufus is do for a comeback……any day now.
LOL, Kyle! Yup, this is a blog about baby names. Or names for anything, I suppose – dogs, cars, goldfish …
I like your point that Kyle rhymes with smile. And I think you’re absolutely right about Rufus!
I am a female Kyle, and I love my name. I’m even going to name my daughter after me, someday, if I have one.
I never thought of my name as anything but MY name, not a boys name, not a girls name, just something that I’ve always been called, and I LOVE it. I would never trade my name for any other.
I say this because I know of a lot of girls with more masculine names that HATE it, but I love being the only girl Kyle in my entire school, and though I am more masculine than most of my female friends, I enjoy immensely the fact that I can go both ways and sometimes tease people about guessing my gender.
I LOVE it.
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Hate Kyle. I immediately think of the South Park character, and then all the wimpy boys I’ve known with that name. And now there are a million girls named Kylee, Kaileigh, etc… no thanks.