Mckinley is a Scottish surname that means "son of Finlay", from the Gaelic Fionnlagh, "fair-haired hero" or "white warrior". In the United States it recalls President William McKinley and the former name of Alaska's highest mountain, and it joined the wave of presidential surnames like Kennedy and Reagan used for girls. Mckinley ranked number 1153 in 2000, entered the top 1000 in 2008, peaked at number 379 in 2014 and ranks number 714 in 2025.