To put it bluntly the name Kyle means narrow, channel or strait, so maybe I should have said that that was the straight answer?
Kyle is of Gaelic origins (more Scottish Gaelic than Irish Gaelic) and is believed to be derived from the word 'caol' which meant channel, as in the narrow pass of water between to larger land masses rather than a TV channel. Several places in Scotland are called Kyle, mainly in the highlands including Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyle of Sutherland.
Other possible sources for the name include the Gaelic word 'cill' which means church or churchyard, the word Welsh coel which means omen or belief, while some suspect that Kyle comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'cil' meaning ship. The most common theory though is narrow, channel or strait.
It was initially a very uncommon name in the United States of America but appears to have surged in popularity during the 1960s and has remained at steady level ever since, with it being the #126 most common first name (out of a possible 1220) in the 1990 census.
Kyle is the most common spelling although it is not unheard of to come across people using the spelling Kile and there are several variations of the name such as Kye, Kylan, Kylar, Kylen, Kyler and Kyrell.
Kyle is not a shortened form of another name and it's female equivalent is Kylie.
Kyle is of Gaelic origins (more Scottish Gaelic than Irish Gaelic) and is believed to be derived from the word 'caol' which meant channel, as in the narrow pass of water between to larger land masses rather than a TV channel. Several places in Scotland are called Kyle, mainly in the highlands including Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyle of Sutherland.
Other possible sources for the name include the Gaelic word 'cill' which means church or churchyard, the word Welsh coel which means omen or belief, while some suspect that Kyle comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'cil' meaning ship. The most common theory though is narrow, channel or strait.
It was initially a very uncommon name in the United States of America but appears to have surged in popularity during the 1960s and has remained at steady level ever since, with it being the #126 most common first name (out of a possible 1220) in the 1990 census.
Kyle is the most common spelling although it is not unheard of to come across people using the spelling Kile and there are several variations of the name such as Kye, Kylan, Kylar, Kylen, Kyler and Kyrell.
Kyle is not a shortened form of another name and it's female equivalent is Kylie.
