2000
#62,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 297
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Kendal
A surname derived from the town of Kendal in Cumbria, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 342 Americans carry the last name Kendal. That puts it at #70,715 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,002,206 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kendal 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kendal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
342
1 in 1,002,206
Census rank
#70,715
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
298
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 298 bearers of the surname Kendal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 70715th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kendal, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kendal
The surname Kendal has its origins in the Cumbrian town of Kendal in the northwest of England. The name is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "kent" meaning a river valley and "haugr" meaning a hill, denoting the town's location in a valley surrounded by hills. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Chendelle in the Domesday Book of 1086.
The Kendal surname first emerged in the 13th century, with records showing a William de Kendal living in Yorkshire in 1260. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name appeared in various historical records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire and the Feet of Fines for Lancashire, indicating the spread of the family across northern England.
One of the earliest notable figures with the Kendal surname was John Kendal, a 14th-century English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Lincoln from 1347 to 1349. Another prominent individual was Thomas Kendal (1515-1593), an English Protestant theologian and Anglican clergyman who served as the Rector of St. Andrew's Church in London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, with John Kendall (1619-1708) being one of the earliest settlers in the New World. He was a prominent figure in the colony, serving as a constable, selectman, and deacon of the church in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Another notable figure was Henry Kendall (1839-1882), an Australian poet and author who is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets of colonial Australia. His works, such as "The Bell-Birds" and "The Harp of the Wanderer," celebrated the Australian landscape and bush life.
In the 20th century, the Kendal surname was borne by several notable individuals, including Wilkie Kendall (1905-1977), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire and represented England in one Test match against the West Indies in 1933.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kendal
Among Census respondents with the surname Kendal, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kendal 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 Kendal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.8% · 205
- Black or African American19.1% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 16
- Two or more races4.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kendal
Kendal 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
#62,714
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 319
+22 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 247 places
2020
#70,715
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 298
-21 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 8,001 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #62,961 | 297 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #62,714 | 319 | 0.11 | +22 bearers (+7.4%) | Up 247 places |
| 2020 | #70,715 | 298 | 0.10 | -21 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 8,001 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 Kendal 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 | #62,714 | #70,715 | -12.8% |
| Count | 319 | 298 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.10 | -9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kendal bearers went from 319 to 298 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 8,001 positions in the national ranking, going from #62,714 to #70,715.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kendal
FAQ
Kendal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kendal?
Name Census estimates that about 342 living Americans carry the surname Kendal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,002,206 residents.
How common is Kendal?
Kendal ranks #70,715 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 298 people with the surname Kendal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (342), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Kendal.
Has Kendal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kendal went from 319 recorded bearers to 298. That is a decrease of 21 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #62,714 to #70,715.
What does the Census say about the background of Kendal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kendal, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kendal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (205 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kendal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.8%), Black (19.1%), Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Kendal (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 Kendal mean?
A surname derived from the town of Kendal in Cumbria, England. 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 Kendal (0.10 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 many people have the last name Kendal?
See how common the surname Kendal is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.