Kingsley m, f
English: transferred use of the surname, originally a local name derived from various places (in Cheshire, Hampshire, Staffordshire) named in Old English as Cyningeslēah ‘king’s wood'. It is not clear what was the initial impulse towards use as a given name; the usual pattern in such cases is for a mother's maiden name to be chosen as a given name, but in this case the choice may have been made in honour of the author Charles Kingsley (1819–75).
First names dictionary. 2012.