Fun Facts About the Name Kipling
- 398 babies named Kipling: U.S. records list 398 babies given the name Kipling from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Kipling Mean?
Kipling is an English family name of the habitational type, taken from a place in Yorkshire. The place name was most likely formed in Old English from a personal name plus the group suffix -ingas, meaning "the people of" or "the followers of." The first element seems to be a personal name such as Cyppel, which would make the literal sense "the people of Cyppel" - a settlement named for the group that lived there. The exact personal name behind the first element is not certain.
Kipling Name History & Origins
Kipling is the sort of surname taken from a village where an early bearer lived or held land. The best-known of the places behind it is Kipling Cotes, a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire near Market Weighton, whose second element is Old English cot, "cottage" or "shelter." A place recorded simply as Kipling, also in Yorkshire, is sometimes named as the source as well. Families who left such a place carried its name with them as a surname, and Kipling is found chiefly in northern England before it spread to other parts of the country and to North America.
As a given name, Kipling is uncommon and follows the general English pattern of surnames used as first names; it appears more often in the United States than in Britain. The writer Rudyard Kipling, born in Bombay in 1865 and schooled in England, made the surname familiar to readers worldwide, but the name was an established family name long before his work.
How Popular is the Name Kipling?
Kipling has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2016. Its best rank was #2,128 in 1965.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,617 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #11,692 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #11,610 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #7,523 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #8,544 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #7,279 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #8,575 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #6,950 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2017 | #5,679 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #5,678 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2015 | #13,156 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #7,881 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #7,881 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #9,227 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #13,498 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2006 | #11,431 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #11,692 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #10,865 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #10,543 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #6,721 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #7,478 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #6,046 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #5,904 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #4,889 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #4,220 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #4,570 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #4,962 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #4,828 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #5,391 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #3,809 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #2,802 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1969 | #2,624 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #4,452 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #2,881 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #3,736 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #2,128 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1964 | #2,491 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1963 | #2,777 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1962 | #2,241 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1961 | #3,525 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #3,866 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #2,944 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1958 | #3,435 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #2,327 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1956 | #3,743 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #3,703 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1953 | #3,274 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #4,019 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Kipling Shapes Your Personality and Life?
EXTREMES in fortune, health and spirituality. You are very versatile, idealistic and intuitive. You either enjoy great success or suffer abject misery. The solution is service to others. Use your leadership abilities for humanity and not for self-glorification. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Kipling's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kipling's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.