Kinsley is an English surname from a place name meaning "king's meadow", from the Old English cyning, king, and leah, clearing. As a first name it is a modern American choice that fits the fashion for Kingsley, Kinley and Paisley. Kinsley stood at number 1611 in 2000, entered the top 1000 in 2005 and the top 100 in 2016, peaked at number 57 in 2021 and ranks number 93 in 2025.