# Kirby (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/kirby/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “church”, “habitation”, “village with a church” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɝbi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Kerby |
| US babies named this | 18,495 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 14,532 / 3,963 (21% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 279, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Originally Kirkby, from kirk (“church”) + -by (“habitation”), "village with a church".

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 25 | 5,462 |
| 2012 | 30 | 4,779 |
| 2013 | 27 | 5,075 |
| 2014 | 31 | 4,608 |
| 2015 | 28 | 4,924 |
| 2016 | 31 | 4,588 |
| 2017 | 33 | 4,340 |
| 2018 | 46 | 3,420 |
| 2019 | 34 | 4,215 |
| 2020 | 39 | 3,751 |
| 2021 | 62 | 2,771 |
| 2022 | 62 | 2,770 |
| 2023 | 55 | 3,036 |
| 2024 | 70 | 2,545 |
| 2025 | 65 | 2,671 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 51 | 2,461 |
| 2012 | 48 | 2,575 |
| 2013 | 44 | 2,690 |
| 2014 | 40 | 2,912 |
| 2015 | 55 | 2,377 |
| 2016 | 44 | 2,746 |
| 2017 | 45 | 2,740 |
| 2018 | 51 | 2,532 |
| 2019 | 43 | 2,881 |
| 2020 | 52 | 2,489 |
| 2021 | 39 | 3,098 |
| 2022 | 44 | 2,896 |
| 2023 | 47 | 2,758 |
| 2024 | 52 | 2,583 |
| 2025 | 36 | 3,278 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7 | 2,167 |
| 2001 | 7 | 2,226 |
| 2002 | 4 | 3,409 |
| 2003 | 3 | 4,373 |
| 2004 | 3 | 4,598 |
| 2005 | 3 | 4,798 |
| 2006 | 3 | 5,061 |
| 2007 | 4 | 4,294 |
| 2008 | 3 | 5,545 |
| 2009 | 4 | 4,564 |
| 2010 | 4 | 4,688 |
| 2011 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2013 | 3 | 5,742 |
| 2018 | 3 | 5,666 |
| 2019 | 3 | 5,591 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 7 | 1,591 |
| 1997 | 3 | 2,859 |
| 2005 | 3 | 3,849 |
| 2008 | 3 | 4,432 |
| 2009 | 4 | 3,744 |
| 2010 | 4 | 3,865 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2012 | 5 | 3,416 |
| 2019 | 4 | 3,937 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,119 |

## People named Kirby

- Edmund Kirby Smith, Confederate States Army general (1824-1893)
- Kirby Howell-Baptiste, British actress
- Kirby Bliss Blanton, American actress
- Kirby Puckett, American baseball player (1960–2006)
- Kirby Morrow, Canadian actor (1973–2020)
- Kirby Grant, American film and television actor (1911-1985)
- Kirby Dach, Canadian ice hockey player
- Kirby Chambliss, American air racer
- Kirby Dick, American film director, producer and screenwriter
- Kirby Minter, American basketball player (1929–2009)
- Kirby Yates, American baseball player (born 1987)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.