Kingsley is from the Old English *cyninges-lēah* (king's meadow). **A modern American baby name in the broader unisex-surname aesthetic**. **Sir Ben Kingsley (Krishna Pandit Bhanji, born 1943)** — male; English actor; Academy Award for Best Actor for *Gandhi* (1982) — the iconic biographical drama which also won Best Picture and Best Director; first Indian-British actor to win the Best Actor Oscar; *Schindler's List* (1993), *Sexy Beast* (2000), *House of Sand and Fog* (2003), *Hugo* (2011); Knight Bachelor (2002); Grammy Award winner; four Academy Award nominations across his career. **Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)** — male; English Victorian novelist; *The Water-Babies* (1863) — children's classic; *Westward Ho!* (1855) — historical novel that gave its name to the Devon town. **Mary Kingsley (1862-1900)** — English explorer; Charles Kingsley's niece; one of the first European women to explore West Africa; published *Travels in West Africa* (1897). **Kingsley Amis (1922-1995)** — male; English novelist; *Lucky Jim* (1954) Booker Prize winner; Knight Bachelor (1990).
Featured throughout English cinema and literature.
Kingsley reduces to five.