Name Awesome

Kye

#1,369 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Possibly narrows, through Kyle

Kye has been given to 5,904 babies in the U.S. since 1956. In 2025 it ranked #1,369 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2016, with 356 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 94% boys, 6% girls all-time.

Babies named Kye, 2025

1 in 24,400

Kye over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Kye over time

In 2025, Kye went to 4% girls and 96% boys.

19562025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Kye: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly narrows, through Kyle

Germanic languages

What Kye means

Kye belongs to the name family reached through Kye → Kyle. Its meaning is “narrows”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Possibly a modern phonetic rendering of Kai, or a short form of Kyle and Kyler.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Kye (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Kye is used in English. Its origins include Germanic languages.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Kyle.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,557 boys were recorded with the name Kye between 1956 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 356 in 2016; its best national rank was #693 in 2016.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #815 in 2020 to #1,369 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #981 in 2015 to #1,369 in 2025.

In the United States, 347 girls were recorded with the name Kye between 1960 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 22 in 2017; its best national rank was #5,752 in 2017.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #7,771 in 2020 to #14,130 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #10,531 in 2015 to #14,130 in 2025.

How common is Kye?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 24,400
136 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 12,600
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,369
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
16,897 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kye sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 16,897 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kye. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kyes were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kye was born before 2015 — so the typical Kye is around 10 today.

Median birth year
2015
About 10 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
40.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
83.4%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
5,557
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 40.6% of all recorded uses (2,255).

Is Kye rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−168
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−554
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−388
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.64×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
38.2%
Peak was 2016 (356)
Years since peak
9
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
13.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#693
2016

Where Kye is used

Across 2016–2025, Kye was most concentrated in Louisiana — about 1 in 1,887 boys, against 1 in 6,595 across all states with data. It was least common in Utah (1 in 33,333).

353 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Louisiana1 in 1,887
  2. 2Oklahoma1 in 2,273
  3. 3Kentucky1 in 3,333
  4. 4Alabama1 in 3,448
  5. 5Mississippi1 in 3,448
  6. 6Arkansas1 in 3,571
  7. 7Missouri1 in 3,571
  8. 8Tennessee1 in 3,704

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Kye is somewhat regional — more concentrated than 74% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Kye around the world

Where Kye ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #1,613
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1998–2024
    #727
    in 2024
  • Northern Ireland
    2007–2021
    #433
    in 2021
  • Ireland
    2008–2020
    #741
    in 2020
  • France
    2024–2024
    #6,836
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #1,614
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1975–2013
    #218
    in 2013
  • New South Wales
    2001–2005
    #96
    in 2005

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada, Consumer and Business Services (South Australia) and NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages. ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA, NSW BDM data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Kye

People whose public names include Kye, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Kye in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Kye. Linked forms have their own page here.

JiQi

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Kye by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,369
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 554
Best rank ever
#693
2016
Peak year
2016
356 that year
First recorded
1956
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,557
Count in 2025
136

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#14,130
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 6,359
Best rank ever
#5,752
2017
Peak year
2017
22 that year
First recorded
1960
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
347
Count in 2025
6

Names similar to Kye

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

SkyeKyelKyenKyeirMakyeJakyeKyereKyellZakyeMalakyeMalikyeKyesonKyerKyeonKyeemKyeleNakyeKyezenKyelanRickyeKyelinJahkyeKyelerMikye

Names with a curve like Kye

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Kye, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

CanaanLangstonJadGreyMerrickThatcherAmeerYousefJeremiasDamariTitanLennon

Sibling names for Kye

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Kye

Top names of 2016, Kye's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2016Boys' names starting with K