King is a boy name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what King means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named King across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular King has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
King is a boy name of Old English origin meaning “king, ruler”. From the English word king, originally a surname.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 37,890 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 612 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 3 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 15 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named King per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 2017 (2,705/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2017 (67/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2002 (3/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2023 (3/yr).
King has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2017, when it ranked #271 nationally (given to 2,772 babies that year).
Kyng · Kong · Kang · Keng · Khang · Kinuko · Kyong · Kianga
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