2000
#1,421
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,990
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.52
Uncommon Last name
Kimball
Derived from the Old English words cyne and bald, meaning "bold royal" or "bold chieftain."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 25,988 Americans carry the last name Kimball. That puts it at #1,542 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,189 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kimball 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.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,189
Census rank
#1,542
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,663 bearers of the surname Kimball in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1542nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimball, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kimball
The surname Kimball is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "cym" meaning a hill ridge or summit, and "ball" meaning a rounded hill or hillock. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, referring to someone who lived near a prominent hill or hillock.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century in England, with early recorded spellings including Kymball, Kymbald, and Kymbold. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Kymbold, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.
Kimball is also recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as a place name, "Chinguale" or "Chinghal", which is believed to be an early form of the surname.
In the 14th century, the name Kimball was found in various records across England, including the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1279 and the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. Notably, a Richard Kymball was recorded in the latter document.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Kimball surname was Sir William Kemball, who was a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in 1397. Another notable figure was Henry Kimball, a Puritan minister who was born in England in 1601 and later emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.
Other historical figures with the surname Kimball include Richard Kimball (1723-1811), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler of New Hampshire; Harriet McEwen Kimball (1834-1917), an American author and lecturer; and Ingalls Kimball (1892-1938), an American composer and music educator.
Throughout history, the Kimball surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Kimball in Shropshire, Kimbolton in Herefordshire, and Kimblewick in Buckinghamshire, which are believed to have derived from the same Old English roots as the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kimball
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimball, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kimball 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 Kimball surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 20,321
- Two or more races3.5% · 796
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 768
- Black or African American2.3% · 510
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 198
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 70
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kimball
Kimball 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
#1,544
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,293
+303 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 7.90
Rank movement Down 123 places
2020
#1,542
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,663
-630 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 7.58
Rank movement Up 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,421 | 22,990 | 8.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,544 | 23,293 | 7.90 | +303 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 123 places |
| 2020 | #1,542 | 22,663 | 7.58 | -630 bearers (-2.7%) | Up 2 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 Kimball 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 | #1,544 | #1,542 | 0.1% |
| Count | 23,293 | 22,663 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 7.90 | 7.58 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kimball bearers went from 23,293 to 22,663 (-2.7% change). The surname moved up 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,544 to #1,542.
FAQ
Kimball surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kimball?
Name Census estimates that about 25,988 living Americans carry the surname Kimball. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,189 residents.
How common is Kimball?
Kimball ranks #1,542 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,663 people with the surname Kimball. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (25,988), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Kimball.
Has Kimball become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kimball went from 23,293 recorded bearers to 22,663. That is a decrease of 630 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,544 to #1,542.
What does the Census say about the background of Kimball?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimball, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Kimball in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (20,321 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kimball appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Kimball (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 Kimball mean?
Derived from the Old English words cyne and bald, meaning "bold royal" or "bold chieftain." 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 Kimball (7.58 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 Kimball?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.