Girl · #369 in 2026

Kayla

Name: Popularity of the name Kayla in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Kayla, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Kayla is a recently created English feminine given name combining the name elements Kay and -la. Its use has been influenced by similar-sounding names such as Kaylee. Use of the name increased in the 1980s after the name was used for the character Kayla Brady on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Current Rank

#369

Peak Rank

#11 (1991)

Total Babies

347K

5-Yr Trend

-42%

1933

First Year

2026

Last Year

1991

Peak Year

#11

Peak Rank

347K

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Kayla

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Kayla

Kayla first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1933, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1991, when 18,545 Kaylas were born — ranking #12 that year. As of 2026, Kayla ranks #369 for baby girls with 821 births, falling sharply (-42%). In total, more than 347K Kaylas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1930s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Kayla

Phonetically similar names — useful when Kayla is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kayla

What does the name Kayla mean?

How popular is Kayla in 2026?

In 2026, Kayla ranks #369 among girls' names in the U.S., with 821 babies given the name that year.

When was Kayla most popular?

Kayla reached its peak popularity in 1991, ranking #11 that year with 18,545 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Kayla most popular?

Kayla has historically been most popular in District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Kayla.

Is Kayla a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Kayla is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Kayla?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Kayla include Edna, Gladys, Judy. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Kayla

Kayla is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1933 and has accumulated 347K births in the dataset. Kayla's peak popularity came in 1991 when it ranked #11. Use the chart and map above to compare Kayla's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.