Modern invented feminine name based on McKinley, a Scottish surname meaning 'son of Finlay' (fair warrior).
Mckinsley grafts the presidential and geographic prestige of McKinley onto a softer, more feminine phonetic frame. McKinley itself is a Scottish-Irish surname anglicized from the Gaelic *Mac Fionnlaigh* — "son of Finlay," where *Fionnlaigh* means "fair warrior" (from *fionn*, white/fair, and *laogh*, warrior or hero). The surname rose to global fame through William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, whose assassination in 1901 prompted the naming of North America's highest peak — now officially restored to its Athabascan name Denali — in his honor.
The feminization of presidential and powerful surnames into given names has a long American history: Madison, Monroe, Kennedy, and Lincoln all made the transition from civic history to nursery. Mckinsley extends this tradition while also participating in the fashion for -leigh and -ley endings that softened many strong-syllabled names for girls in the 2000s and 2010s. The lowercase "mc" prefix, unusual in a first name, gives it a slightly heraldic quality — a reminder that this is borrowed finery from the great tradition of clan naming.
As a contemporary first name, Mckinsley occupies interesting territory: it carries ambition, a sense of American history, and a certain grandeur, while the -sley ending provides the warmth of familiarity. It is a name that announces its bearer intends to be taken seriously.