2000
#2,402
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,832
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.13
Uncommon Last name
Kilpatrick
A Scottish surname referring to a person from Kilpatrick, a place meaning "church of Saint Patrick."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,450 Americans carry the last name Kilpatrick. That puts it at #2,615 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,185 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kilpatrick 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 Kilpatrick with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,185
Census rank
#2,615
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,473 bearers of the surname Kilpatrick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2615th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kilpatrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kilpatrick
The surname Kilpatrick originates from Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "cill" meaning "church" and "padraig" meaning "Patrick," referring to the church or parish of St. Patrick. The name is associated with lands in the Scottish counties of Dumbartonshire and Ayrshire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Ragman Rolls, a collection of homage rolls from Scotland in the late 13th century. The rolls list a "Patrick de Kilpatrick" who swore fealty to King Edward I of England in 1296.
The Kilpatrick surname has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. Sir Robert Kilpatrick (1357-1420) was a Scottish nobleman who served as Lord High Treasurer of Scotland during the reign of King Robert III. Sir Thomas Kilpatrick (1545-1625) was a Scottish soldier and courtier who fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and later became a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King James VI of Scotland.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Kilpatrick family settled in Ulster, Ireland, and the name became more prevalent there. One notable bearer was Hugh Kilpatrick (1788-1865), an Irish-born American military officer who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.
Another prominent figure was Jacob Kilpatrick (1836-1924), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1893 to 1897. James J. Kilpatrick (1920-2010) was an American journalist and author who wrote for several newspapers, including the Richmond News Leader and the National Review.
Variations of the spelling include Kilpatrik, Kilpatrike, and Kilpatric, reflecting different regional pronunciations and spelling conventions over time. The name is also found in place names such as Kilpatrick Hills in Scotland and Kilpatrick, a town in County Westmeath, Ireland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kilpatrick
Among Census respondents with the surname Kilpatrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kilpatrick 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 Kilpatrick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.9% · 10,360
- Black or African American13.7% · 1,843
- Two or more races4.4% · 589
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 501
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 82
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kilpatrick
Kilpatrick 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
#2,565
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,087
+255 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 4.78
Rank movement Down 163 places
2020
#2,615
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,473
-614 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 4.51
Rank movement Down 50 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,402 | 13,832 | 5.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,565 | 14,087 | 4.78 | +255 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 163 places |
| 2020 | #2,615 | 13,473 | 4.51 | -614 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 50 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 Kilpatrick 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 | #2,565 | #2,615 | -1.9% |
| Count | 14,087 | 13,473 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 4.78 | 4.51 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kilpatrick bearers went from 14,087 to 13,473 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 50 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,565 to #2,615.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kilpatrick
FAQ
Kilpatrick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kilpatrick?
Name Census estimates that about 15,450 living Americans carry the surname Kilpatrick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,185 residents.
How common is Kilpatrick?
Kilpatrick ranks #2,615 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,473 people with the surname Kilpatrick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,450), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Kilpatrick.
Has Kilpatrick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kilpatrick went from 14,087 recorded bearers to 13,473. That is a decrease of 614 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,565 to #2,615.
What does the Census say about the background of Kilpatrick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kilpatrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Kilpatrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.9% (10,360 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kilpatrick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.9%), Black (13.7%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Kilpatrick (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 Kilpatrick mean?
A Scottish surname referring to a person from Kilpatrick, a place meaning "church of Saint Patrick." 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 Kilpatrick (4.51 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 share the surname Kilpatrick?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.