2000
#110,523
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 148
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kenard
An Old French derived surname indicating someone from a place named Chenart or Quenart.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Kenard. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kenard surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Kenard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kenard, the largest self-reported group is Black at 66.9%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kenard
The surname Kenard has its origins in France, tracing back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name Kennard, which is a compound of the elements "kin" meaning "hardy" or "brave" and "hard" meaning "strong" or "hardy." This name was brought to France during the Norman Conquest and gradually evolved into the modern spelling of Kenard.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kenard can be found in medieval French records and documents. In the 13th century, a nobleman named Renaud Kenard was mentioned in the court records of the County of Champagne. Additionally, a village named Kenardville, located in the Normandy region of France, was named after a local landowner with the surname Kenard during this period.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Kenard was Jean Kenard, a French scholar and philosopher who lived from 1450 to 1520. He was renowned for his works on metaphysics and ethics, and his treatises were widely studied in universities across Europe during the Renaissance era.
In the 17th century, a French explorer named Pierre Kenard (1635-1701) gained fame for his expeditions to the Caribbean and Central America. His detailed accounts of the indigenous cultures and natural wonders of the region were highly influential in Europe at the time.
Another prominent individual with the surname Kenard was Marie-Antoinette Kenard (1768-1834), a French artist and painter who was celebrated for her portraits and landscapes during the Napoleonic era. Her works are still displayed in several prestigious art museums in France.
The surname Kenard also made its way to England during the Norman Conquest, where it evolved into variations such as Kennard and Kinnard. One notable English bearer of this name was Sir Thomas Kinnard (1575-1648), a military commander who served in the English Civil War and was knighted for his bravery on the battlefield.
In the 18th century, a French aristocrat named Louis-François Kenard (1720-1793) was a prominent figure in the court of King Louis XVI. He was a renowned patron of the arts and his lavish estate in Versailles was a hub for artists and intellectuals of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenard
Among Census respondents with the surname Kenard, the largest self-reported group is Black at 66.9%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kenard bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kenard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.9% · 81
- White28.1% · 34
- Two or more races5.0% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kenard
Kenard appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-28 bearers (-18.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 28,705 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+1 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,081 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #110,523 | 148 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -28 bearers (-18.9%) | Down 28,705 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 2,081 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kenard surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #139,228 | #141,309 | -1.5% |
| Count | 120 | 121 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kenard bearers went from 120 to 121 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 2,081 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #141,309.
FAQ
Kenard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kenard?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Kenard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Kenard?
Kenard ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Kenard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Kenard.
Has Kenard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kenard went from 120 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 1 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Kenard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kenard, the largest self-reported group is Black at 66.9%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kenard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.9% (81 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kenard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (66.9%), White (28.1%), Two or More Races (5.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kenard (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kenard mean?
An Old French derived surname indicating someone from a place named Chenart or Quenart. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kenard (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Kenard?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Kenard, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.