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

Kilcoyne, 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 Kilcoyne surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kilcoyne in America

Kilcoyne is the 20172nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kilcoyne surname appeared 1,322 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 Kilcoyne.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kilcoyne 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 Kilcoyne

The surname Kilcoyne originated in Ireland, likely emerging in the late 12th or early 13th century during the Norman invasion and settlement of the island. It is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Cillchon, which means "descendant of Cillchon." Cillchon was a personal name derived from the words "cill," meaning church, and "con," meaning wisdom or reason.

The earliest recorded instances of the name appear in medieval Irish annals and manuscripts, such as the Annals of the Four Masters, which mention individuals with the name Ó Cillchon. The name was most prevalent in the counties of Galway and Mayo in the western province of Connacht.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Tadhg Ó Cillchon, a prominent priest and scholar who lived in the 14th century. He was noted for his expertise in canon law and served as the Vicar-General of the Diocese of Tuam.

In the 16th century, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, the name appears in the Composition Book of Connacht, a survey of landholders in the province. Several individuals with the surname Kilcoyne are listed as owning property in the baronies of Moycullen and Ballynahinch in County Galway.

The name Kilcoyne has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. In the 17th century, Donough Kilcoyne was a prominent lawyer and judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas from 1665 to 1685.

In the 19th century, Michael Kilcoyne (1807-1882) was an Irish politician and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Galway Borough from 1857 to 1868. He was a vocal advocate for tenant rights and land reform in Ireland.

Another notable bearer of the name was James Kilcoyne (1870-1939), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1915 to 1922 and as the province's Attorney General from 1921 to 1922.

Francis Kilcoyne (1889-1957) was an Irish writer and journalist who worked for several newspapers, including the Irish Press and the Irish Independent. He published several books, including a biography of Daniel O'Connell, the famous Irish political leader.

The name Kilcoyne has also been associated with several notable figures in the field of sports. Patrick Kilcoyne (1935-2018) was an Irish hurler who played for the Galway senior hurling team and won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1958.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kilcoyne

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

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

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

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