The name Kinsler debuted (as a boy name) in the U.S. baby name data in 2009. It rose to peak usage several years later:
- 2014: 32 baby boys and 7 baby girls named Kinsler
- 22 boys born in Texas
- 2013: 31 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Kinsler
- 24 boys and all 5 girls born in TX
- 2012: 64 baby boys [peak] and 13 baby girls [debut] named Kinsler
- 52 boys and 11 girls born in TX; 6 boys born in OK
- 2011: 28 baby boys named Kinsler
- 24 born in TX
- 2010: 21 baby boys named Kinsler
- 17 born in TX
- 2009: 8 baby boys named Kinsler [overall debut]
- 2008: unlisted
- 2007: unlisted
- 2006: unlisted
What was the influence?
Baseball player Ian Kinsler, who joined the Majors in 2006. He was a low draft pick out of college, but ended up becoming an All-Star four times, starting in 2008. In 2009, Sporting News‘ ranked Kinsler 24th on its list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball.
He spent more than half of his professional career with the Texas Rangers in (2006-2013), which explains the particularly high usage in Texas.
The surname Kinsler is an Americanized form of the German surname Künzler, which is based on the Middle High German word künzen, meaning “to flatter.” Originally, it was a nickname for a flatterer.
Sources:
- Ian Kinsler – Wikipedia
- Johns, Greg. “Ichiro 30th on Sporting News list of baseball’s best.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer 20 May 2009.
- Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.