Kindle
Feminine · “to kindle”
Kindle is given to both — 540 girls and 42 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Kindle is an English word, to set alight, given as a name almost entirely to girls. It is two syllables, warm and bright, and it is also the name of a well-known reading device.
How old is the name Kindle?
Kindle first appears in US birth records in 1964 — 61 years ago. The typical Kindle alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 500 people named Kindle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kindle most popular?
Kindle peaked in 2011, reaching #4568 nationally. See the whole 2011 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From kynda to Kindle
The story of Kindle
The word kindle came into English from the Norse settlers and means to light a fire, and by extension to stir up feeling or thought. When Amazon launched its electronic reader, the branding designer Michael Cronan chose Kindle for that sense of setting a mind alight. Families had given the word to daughters before the device existed, and still do, and the record does not say which families had which picture in mind.
Meaningscholars disagree
to kindle, to set alight
From the English verb kindle, from Old Norse kynda, to light a fire. As a given name it is the word itself, and the record does not say why families chose it.
How the name formed
- kynda
- kindle
- Kindle
Pronouncing Kindle
KIN-dul
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
Nicknames for Kindle
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1964
- Most girls named
- 201131 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4568reached in 2011
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%6 in 2023, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kindles among us
people named Kindle are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Kindle sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Its meaning, to set alight, is warm and hopeful.
- It is rare and memorable.
- Nearly everyone will think of the e-reader.
- A very few boys have been given it; for them it will read as a girl's name.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kindle
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kindles are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Kindle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kindle in 2025?
- Kindle is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kindle with classmates?
- Kindle will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kindle? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kindle and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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