2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kidston
A locational surname derived from a place name in Ayrshire, Scotland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Kidston. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kidston 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 Kidston with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Kidston in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kidston, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kidston
The surname Kidston originated in Scotland during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the place name Kidstoune, which was an old spelling of the village of Kidsmuir located in the historical county of Berwickshire, now part of the Scottish Borders region. The name likely evolved from the Old English words "cyddes" meaning "famous" and "tun" meaning "farm" or "settlement."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical document that recorded the names of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The entry "Roger de Kidistoun" is listed, indicating the presence of the Kidston family in the area during that time.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named William Kidston (c. 1515-1580) was a prominent merchant and burgess of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was involved in trade and served as a magistrate in the city.
Another significant individual was Robert Kidston (1852-1924), a renowned Scottish paleobotanist and fossil plant expert. He made significant contributions to the study of plant fossils from the Carboniferous period and authored several important works on the subject.
The Kidston surname also has connections to the Kidston family of Glenville, a Scottish landed gentry family with roots in Renfrewshire. One notable member was Richard Kidston (1711-1793), who served as a Member of Parliament for the Linlithgow Burghs constituency in the British House of Commons.
In the literary realm, the Scottish poet and writer William Kidston (1849-1919) was a prominent figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He wrote several collections of poetry and prose works, including "Voices of the Morning" and "The Stirrup Cup."
While the name was primarily concentrated in Scotland, it also spread to other parts of the United Kingdom and beyond through migration and diaspora. Notable individuals bearing the Kidston surname can be found in various fields, including academia, politics, and the arts, throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kidston
Among Census respondents with the surname Kidston, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kidston 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 Kidston surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 3
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kidston
Kidston appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-8 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 5,360 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 5,360 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 Kidston 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 | #149,395 | #154,755 | -3.6% |
| Count | 110 | 102 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kidston bearers went from 110 to 102 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 5,360 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #154,755.
FAQ
Kidston surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kidston?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Kidston. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Kidston?
Kidston ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Kidston. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Kidston.
Has Kidston become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kidston went from 110 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Kidston?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kidston, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Kidston in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kidston appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Kidston (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 Kidston mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name in Ayrshire, Scotland. 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 Kidston (0.03 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 surname Kidston?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.