The Kingsley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,043 people carried this name — #4,417 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 36,600 people counted. That is up 2% from 7,917 in 2000.

See Kingsley on the map Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Kingsley surname

"The king's wood or clearing", from Old English cynges, genitive of cyng (“king”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kingsley» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Kingsley’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 453 · public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

23 people named Kingsley live in Switzerland.

They live in 3 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Aargau 10
Zurich 10
Bern 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Kingsley was found among the farmers of Hertfordshire: 25 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Hertfordshire 25

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

120 families named Kingsley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 738 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 47
Connecticut 27
Vermont 18
Pennsylvania 13
Rhode Island 5
New York 5
Maine 2
New Hampshire 1
Maryland 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 248 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Kingsley in American newspapers,
1892–1928.

Newspaper page from Middletown Transcript carrying the name Kingsley
Middletown Transcript 1892-06-16
Newspaper page from Mower County Transcript carrying the name Kingsley
Mower County Transcript 1896-06-24
Newspaper page from Smyrna Times carrying the name Kingsley
Smyrna Times 1928-10-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,788 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kingsley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

20,296 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kingsley. The most, 4,646, date from the 1920s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 7,821
Victoria 4,622
Western Australia 2,269
Queensland 2,237
South Australia 2,153
Tasmania 856
ACT (Canberra) 213
Northern Territory 18

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kingsley.

Who carried it

People named Kingsley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Catherine Kingsley d. 1832
  • Alfred M. Kingsley d. 1961
  • William Kingsley d. 1648
  • Anne Kingsley d. 1713
  • Heylock Kingsley 1685–1749
  • Sarah Kingsley 1692–1735

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kingsley,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,025 records

1,025 records of the Kingsley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 294
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 288
  • Other U.S. records 443
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James Kingsley

    Born 1922 in Illinois. Enlisted 1940 at Chanute Filed; driver from Kane County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Scandinavian Cemetery, Rockford, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Thomas Edward Kingsley

    Born 1947; from Toledo, Ohio. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1971 in Bien Hoa, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaret Kingsley

    Arrived at New York in 1860 aboard the Constellation from Liverpool, aged 32; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,025 records for Kingsley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia323 records

323 records of the Kingsley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 145
  • Tasmanian Names Index 101
  • Other Australian records 77
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Robert Kingsley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Layton, sailing from Sheerness in 1835. Native of Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1847 in Spring Bay, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Joseph Kingsley

    Married 1882 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 23. Died 1914 in Tasmania, aged 55.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Cyril John Kingsley

    Born 1885 in Hobart, Tasmania. Died 1928 in Tasmania, aged 43.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 323 records for Kingsley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada20 records

20 records of the Kingsley name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 11
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • Other Canadian records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Elizabeth Florence Kingsley

    Buried in 1999 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 85.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Beatrice Kingsley

    Died 1931 in Rockingham, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Alfred Samuel Robert Kingsley

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 20 records for Kingsley in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom7 records

7 records of the Kingsley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 4
  • Stirling Council burial records 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Richard Kingsley

    Died 1978, aged 63; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Kingsley

    Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Louisa Kingsley

    Died 1985, aged 65; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 7 records for Kingsley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Kingsley name in New Zealand Marlborough District cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Frances Clara Kingsley

    Died 1983, aged 85; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Henderson Field Kingsley

    Died 1985, aged 85; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Kingsley name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register George Henry Kingsley

    In the population register of Tiel; born 1893.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Rivierenland (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register George Henry Kingsley

    In the population register of Dodewaard.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Rivierenland (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Kingsley name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Maurice Kingsley

    Born 1932 in Belgium; died 1989 in Saint-Barthélemy (Guadeloupe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kingsley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kingsley is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Kingsley volume
Scroll to Top