Origin: English
Meaning: “council meadow; Tint’s meadow”
Gender: unisex
TINZ-lee

From the transferred use of the English surname, either composed of the Anglo-Saxon elements, Tingas-Leah, (council meadow), Tynni hlaw (Tynni’s hill) or Tint (unknown Anglo-Saxon male name) and leah (meadow). It is the name of town in Sheffield, England and a town in Mississippi, USA.

Its usage as a first name seems to be very recent, and has likely been popularized for females by American Socialite and reality star, Tinsley Mortimer (b. 1976). A notable male bearer is American rock and blues musician, Tinsley Ellis (b. 1957).

It first appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Most Popular Female names in 2016. It ranked in at 720 in 2020 and currently comes in at #914.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinsley,_South_Yorkshire
https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Tinsley
https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Tinsley