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

Kerfoot, 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 Kerfoot surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kerfoot in America

Kerfoot is the 26795th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kerfoot surname appeared 908 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 Kerfoot.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kerfoot 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 Kerfoot

The surname Kerfoot has its origins in the Scottish Borders region, along the boundary between Scotland and England. It is believed to have emerged during the 12th or 13th century, derived from the Old English words "cær" meaning marsh or fen, and "fot" meaning foot. This suggests the name may have referred to someone who lived near a marshy area or whose land was prone to flooding.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical record of Scottish nobles and landowners who were forced to swear fealty to King Edward I of England. The entry "Willelmus de Kerfut" is listed, indicating the presence of the Kerfoot name in the Scottish Borders region during the late 13th century.

In the 14th century, a variant spelling of the name, "Keirfut," appeared in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which were financial records maintained by the royal treasury. This further solidifies the name's Scottish origins and its early use in the medieval period.

During the 16th century, the Kerfoot name was associated with the village of Ecclefechan in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Historical records from this time mention individuals such as John Kerfoot, who was born in Ecclefechan around 1550, and his son, also named John Kerfoot, born in the same village in 1580.

In the 17th century, the Kerfoot family gained prominence in the nearby town of Annan, also in Dumfriesshire. Notable figures from this era include William Kerfoot (1614-1689), a prominent merchant and landowner, and his son, John Kerfoot (1646-1721), who served as the Provost (Mayor) of Annan.

As the name spread across the Scottish Borders and beyond, it produced several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure was Sir John Kerfoot (1789-1868), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Member of Parliament. Another was William Kerfoot (1837-1908), a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Other individuals bearing the Kerfoot surname include Thomas Kerfoot (1790-1857), an English Unitarian minister and author; John Barrett Kerfoot (1816-1886), an American Episcopal bishop; and Samuel Kerfoot (1876-1946), an English footballer who played for several clubs in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kerfoot

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

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 Kerfoot 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 Kerfoot 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 Kerfoot was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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