Given name & surname · also Middle English
Keighley
“woodland clearing, glade”
Keighley is a surname from Middle English, ultimately from Old English.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Keighley goes back to a word meaning “woodland clearing, glade.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Keighley comes from Middle English, and ultimately from Old English.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1989. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Keighley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 213
- 0 boys · 213 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #9,782 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 9,782 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 186 as a first name in 2020; 348 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Keighley’s family of names
In English usage, Keighley as a surname has a related form in KEATLEY. In English usage, Keighley as a surname has a related form in KIGHTLEY.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
Similar names
If you love Keighley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Beckley
“wood, clearing”
>99% girls
Kensley
Kensley is a feminine given name from Old English.
3% boys · 97% girls
Brimley
“broom”
>99% girls
Tansley
“twig, branch”
>99% girls
Tinley
Tinley is a feminine given name, probably from Old English.
>99% girls
Hatley
“woodland clearing, glade”
>99% girls
Eveleigh
“woodland clearing, glade”
>99% girls
Scotland
“land of the Scots”
14% boys · 86% girls