NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Kaylee

A feminine name derived from the English word "key".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Kaylee is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Kaylee popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2253, with 12 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2002, with 73 births.

This profile covers 1,217 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 16% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 1,449 living people in the UK are called Kaylee. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Kaylee ranked #2253 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 12 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2002, when 73 girls were registered as Kaylee.
  • Kaylee ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #434 in 2018.
  • About 1,449 living people in the UK are estimated to have Kaylee as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#2253

2024

Births in 2024

12

Latest year

Peak year

2002

73 births

Estimated living

1,449

2026

Meaning

What does Kaylee mean?

The name Kaylee is an English name that originated in the late 20th century. It is a variation of the name Kayla, which is derived from the Hebrew name Kaʻila, meaning "laurel plant." The name Kaʻila is a biblical name mentioned in the Book of Numbers as one of the wives of Lamech.

The first known recorded use of the name Kaylee dates back to the 1960s, when it was used as a variant spelling of Kayla. It gained popularity in the United States in the 1990s, likely influenced by the TV show "Firefly," which featured a character named Kaylee Frye, played by Jewel Staite.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kaylee was Kaylee DeFer, an American actress born in 1986. She is best known for her roles in movies such as "Gossip" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1."

Another notable figure named Kaylee is Kaylee Hartung, an American journalist and sportscaster born in 1985. She has worked for various networks, including ESPN and ABC News.

In literature, the name Kaylee appears in the novel "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" by Ann Brashares, published in 2001. One of the main characters is named Kaylee.

Kaylee Preston, born in 1988, is an American adult film actress and model. She has won several awards in the adult entertainment industry.

Kaylee Merrill, born in 1994, is a Canadian actress known for her role as Juliette Holliday on the TV series "The Tomorrow People."

While the name Kaylee is relatively modern, it has gained popularity in recent decades and has been used by several notable individuals across various fields, including acting, journalism, and literature.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Kaylee over time

The chart below shows babies named Kaylee registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Kaylee, the clearest high point is 2002. The latest England and Wales figure is 12 births in 2024, compared with 73 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Kaylee
018375573199620102024

Decades

Kaylee by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Kaylee was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #1658 95 5
2010s #1058 351 10
2000s #573 574 10
1990s #551 197 4

Geography

Where Kaylee is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Kaylee. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Kaylee ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #434 in 2018.

Northern Ireland
3
Scotland
3

Across the UK

Kaylee in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#790 in 2024

27 years of NRS records, 193 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#434 in 2018

11 years of NISRA records, 48 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Kaylee

  • Kaylee Davidson-Olley

    first successful British heart transplant baby

    1987-

Related

Names similar to Kaylee

FAQ

Kaylee: questions and answers

How popular is the name Kaylee in the UK right now?

In 2024, Kaylee was ranked #2253 for girls in England and Wales, with 12 births registered.

When was Kaylee most popular?

The peak year on record was 2002, with 73 babies registered as Kaylee in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Kaylee?

A feminine name derived from the English word "key".

How many people are called Kaylee in the UK?

A total of 1,217 babies have been registered as Kaylee across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 193 more in Scotland and 48 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Kaylee most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Kaylee ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #434 in 2018. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.