What do you call 2,326 Kyles in one place? A world record.

Is your name Kyle?

If so, you might have a shot at the record books.

The town of Kyle, Texas, is calling on all Kyles, anywhere in the world, to join their eponymous brethren at a carnival this month. The assignment: Snatch the world record for the largest gathering of people with the same first nameset in 2017, when 2,325 men named Ivan gathered in a town in Bosnia.

Kyles’ gathering, May 19-21, will be the city’s first-ever Kyle Fair. Kyles’ past gatherings have taken place during the city’s annual Pie in the Sky celebration, which focuses on its status as the pie capital of Texas. But the new fair this year does dedicated exclusively to Kyles Knock Ivans out of the record books.

“We need tall Kyles, short Kyles, young Kyles and old Kyles,” the city announced in April.

“We’ve been getting inquiries from all over,” said Claudia Rocha, the city’s event planner. “I just had an inquiry from Britain.”

Kyle, about 20 miles south of Austin, has been advertising for weeks. In a promotional video, Austin actors wearing cowboy hats and rocking chairs talked about the event. There were subtitles for “non-natives” or outsiders who don’t speak “Texan.”

On that of the city Facebook page, Kyles tagged other Kyles. Friends and family tagged Kyles they knew. Some asked whether variants, such as Kylle and Cyle, or middle and family names were allowed.

“Does Kyle count as a last name?” Stephanie Kyle wrote hopefully. “This sounds like a blast!”

There were even Kyle wannabes.

“I identify as a Kyle. Does that count?” wrote Roy Daniel Weaver.

An 11,000 strong community of Kyles on Redditknown as a “place for Kyles and Kyle lovers,” shared links to the event in Texas, seeking carpools and spread the word.

“My fellow brothers, now is our time!” a Kyle wrote.

And no, pets named Kyle wouldn’t be counted.

Ms. Rocha said Kyles must spell their name KYLE and have identification to prove it. Minor Kyles are welcome if a parent can vouch for them.

In previous years, about 100 or fewer Kyles showed up. Ms. Rocha said it was not clear how many Kyles would appear this time around because pre-registration was not required.

“All they have to do is show up,” she said.

Officials hope Kyle’s pride is strong and will cross borders, genders and state lines to put the city on the map. What the city gains in Kyles it hopes to translate into prestige.

“We love the fact that the branding of this event is the branding of our city name,” said Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell, who happened to once live in Travis County, south central Texas.

The name that Kyle has Scottish descent. Fergus Kyle, a settler in the 1880s, helped found Kyle, Texas, which has grown to a population of about 50,000. The name is on a flower shop, animal hospital, chiropractic center, senior center, coffee shop, church, and Lake Kyle Park, where the official count of the Kyles will take place on May 21.

Kyle ER & Hospital, on Kyle Center Drive, is near Kyle Vision, an eye care center, and Kyle Parkway, where Ascension Seton Hays Hospital celebrated newborns named Kyle.

“When I was there, every child named Kyle who was born in the hospital was given a specific certificate that read ‘Welcome to Kyle,'” says Sarah Watson, a former city events manager.

In the United States, Kyle has never been extremely popular. The government has released lists of the 200 most popular baby names since the 1880s, based on Social Security card application data. Kyle first appeared on the list In the 1960sat No. 169, and peaked at No. 24 in the 90s before slipping to No. 172 in the 2010s.

Kyle is less common in girls. A variant, Kylie, was the 72nd most popular name as of 2020, but was less common than in the previous decade.

Nevertheless, as some Kyles will tell you, Kyle isn’t just a name. It’s a lifestyle. Just as the name Karen has become associated with a titled busybody, memes portray Kyles as aggressive young men who like Monstrous energy potions and Ax body spray and who vented their anger by hitting drywall.

“While our name connects us, we have a lot more in common,” says Kyle Miller, 31, a host of “The only Kyles show”, a comedy podcast exploring what it means to be named, you guessed it, Kyle.

“You have the stereotypes of Monsters and stuff, but I would say our group has been promoting those stereotypes,” said Mr. Miller. “There has always been the ‘Kyle punches drywall’ joke. It’s one of those pop culture things that popped up. Kyles generally tend to be short-tempered, and when they are dissatisfied they just break something rather than harm others.

In 2021, a Facebook group dedicated to Kyles – whose members strive to “become the best Kyle we can be” – planned a trip to Kyle for a “KyleKon” get-together at the town’s annual fair. When the carnival was canceled due to the pandemic, the Kyles who were already there celebrated with sledgehammers and spray paint.

“We went to a rage room where you break things,” said Kyle Wildenberg. “We actually bought a car to destroy. It was a white Camry or something, whatever they got out of the junkyard.

Apparently, the lure of breaking a world record isn’t all that appealing: Mr. Wildenberg said the group wouldn’t be returning to Kyle this year. They’ve already scheduled their 2023 KyleKon for Orlando, Florida, where, jokingly, no name tags will be required.

Officials in Kyle are still hoping their town will be filled with Kyles at this month’s fair.

One is Kyle Banks, 15, a high school sophomore from Cibolo, Texas. His family has been going to Kyle fairs every year since he was in fourth grade so he could socialize with other Kyles.

“They did crazy things like say ‘Hey, Kyle’ and see how many people turned around,” said Kyle, who was named after Kyle fieldhome to the Texas A&M University football team.

Even if the Kyles oust the Ivans of Bosnia, other Texas cities could steal the record next year. Texas has more than two dozen cities with names commonly given to people such as Leonard, Anna, Josephine, and Austin, the state capital.

If a challenge came from the city of Austin, Kyle Taylor, the Chief of the Kyle Fire Department who oversees two firefighters named Kyle, said he could help, even if he betrayed his loyalty.

“I have a firefighter named Austin that I can borrow,” he said.