Meaning & Origin
A surname.
Kingsley is a boy's and girl's baby name of Old English origin, from the English place name meaning "king's meadow" or "king's clearing," from the Old English cyning (king) and leah (meadow). It carries both regal dignity and the pastoral quality of English landscape names.
Kingsley has been growing in the United States as a distinguished surname name with an unmistakable royal quality. Actor Ben Kingsley — Sir Ben Kingsley, the Oscar winner for Gandhi — is the name's most celebrated bearer, and his knighthood makes the king- prefix feel entirely appropriate.