Find out how popular the last name Junkin is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Junkin.

Junkin, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Junkin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Junkin in America

Junkin is the 21119th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Junkin surname appeared 1,243 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Junkin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Junkin to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Junkin

The surname Junkin originated in Scotland during the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Scottish word "juncker," which means a young nobleman or squire. The name likely referred to someone who worked as a servant or attendant to a nobleman.

In its earliest recorded instances, the name was spelled in various ways, including Junkin, Junking, Junkyn, and Junkine. One of the earliest known references to the name appears in the Scottish Parliament Rolls of 1587, where a certain Robert Junkin is mentioned.

The Junkins were concentrated primarily in the counties of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire in the southwest of Scotland. Some branches of the family later migrated to other parts of the British Isles, including Ireland and England.

One notable early bearer of the name was John Junkin, who was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, around 1670. He was a Presbyterian minister and became known for his fiery sermons and opposition to the Church of England.

In the late 17th century, a number of Junkins immigrated to the American colonies, settling primarily in Pennsylvania and Virginia. One of the earliest recorded Junkins in America was Joseph Junkin, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1696 and later settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Another notable Junkin was David X. Junkin (1808-1868), who was born in Pennsylvania and became a prominent Presbyterian minister and educator. He served as the president of Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) in Virginia from 1848 to 1861.

Other historical figures with the Junkin surname include George Junkin (1790-1868), a Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the president of Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and George Junkin (1856-1924), a Scottish-born American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri.

Another Junkin of note was John Junkin (1856-1935), a Scottish-born American architect who designed several notable buildings in the Kansas City area, including the Jackson County Courthouse and the Kansas City Public Library.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Junkin

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Junkin.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Junkin was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Junkin has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Junkin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Junkin, please contact us.

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