Given name
Kinston
“from the king's town”
Kinston is a variant of Kingston. One English interpretation is “from the king's town.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kinston is a variant of Kingston. One English interpretation is “from the king's town.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Kinston is a variant of Kingston. An origin associated with Kingston is English.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1995. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kinston through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 183
- 183 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 16 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #10,235 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −65%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 10,235 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 16 in 2019. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 249 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kinston’s family of names
Kinston has a related form in Kingston.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Kinston, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.