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

Kill, 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 Kill surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kill in America

Kill is the 21413th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kill surname appeared 1,221 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 Kill.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kill 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 Kill

The surname KILL has its origins in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "cyll" which means a hollow or deep pit. The name likely referred to someone who lived near such a geological feature.

In some of the earliest records from the 13th century, the name appears as "de Kylle" or "atte Kylle" indicating a person from a place with that name. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 list a Richard de la Kylle in Oxfordshire. A few decades later in 1327, the Subsidy Rolls mention a John atte Kylle in Sussex.

By the 15th century, the spelling had evolved closer to the modern form with examples like John Kylle recorded in 1428 in Somerset. The variant Kille also appears around this time in records from Essex and Norfolk.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Kylle, a merchant from Bristol who is mentioned in port records from 1473. Another early example is Richard Kyll, a farmer from Dorset whose will is dated 1512.

The KILL surname continued to be found primarily in southern England throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Notable people included Sir John Kille (1529-1594), a member of Parliament representing Lyme Regis, and Thomas Kill (1627-1711), an English scholar of Greek and Hebrew.

As the name spread more widely, other prominent figures emerged such as Henry Kill (1690-1782), a wealthy London merchant and philanthropist who endowed schools and almshouses. Later was the politician William Watkin Kill (1806-1878) who served as Mayor of Pembroke.

Moving into the 19th century, the geologist John Kill (1822-1891) conducted important surveys mapping coal reserves in Yorkshire. Around the same time lived Robert Kill (1811-1890), a prolific writer who penned over 50 novels and works of history under the pseudonym Cavalier.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kill

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

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

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

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