2000
#10,888
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,683
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Kimes
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "at the kimes," referring to a low marshy area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,951 Americans carry the last name Kimes. That puts it at #11,664 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,149 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kimes 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
3.0K
1 in 116,149
Census rank
#11,664
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,573 bearers of the surname Kimes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11664th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kimes
The surname Kimes is of English origin, derived from the Middle English word "kime," meaning a raised ridge or hill. This name is believed to have originated in the medieval period, likely referring to individuals who lived near or on a prominent hilltop.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Kimes can be traced back to the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, a census-like record from 1273, where it appears as "William de Kymes." This suggests that the name was already established in the 13th century, potentially even earlier.
In the late 14th century, the name was documented in the form "Kymmes" in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire. This spelling variation highlights the fluidity of surnames during that era, often influenced by regional dialects and phonetic transcriptions.
One notable historical figure associated with the name was Sir John Kimes, a English knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses during the 15th century. He was born around 1420 and served under the House of Lancaster, participating in several significant battles, including the Battle of Towton in 1461.
Another individual of note was William Kimes, a prominent merchant and landowner from Gloucestershire, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Records indicate that he was involved in the wool trade and held considerable property in the village of Painswick.
In the 18th century, the name Kimes was found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire. One notable bearer was Thomas Kimes, a wealthy landowner and farmer from Lincolnshire, born in 1725.
The surname Kimes has also been linked to several place names in England, such as Kimes Hill in Oxfordshire and Kimes Farm in Derbyshire. These locations likely derived their names from individuals bearing the surname who resided or owned land in those areas.
Throughout history, the Kimes surname has appeared in various spellings, including Kymmes, Kymmes, Keymes, and Keimes, reflecting the linguistic and orthographic changes that occurred over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kimes
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kimes 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 Kimes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.0% · 2,161
- Black or African American6.6% · 169
- Two or more races4.8% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kimes
Kimes 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
#10,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,042
+359 bearers (+13.4%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Up 347 places
2020
#11,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,573
-469 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 1,123 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,888 | 2,683 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,541 | 3,042 | 1.03 | +359 bearers (+13.4%) | Up 347 places |
| 2020 | #11,664 | 2,573 | 0.86 | -469 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 1,123 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 Kimes 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 | #10,541 | #11,664 | -10.7% |
| Count | 3,042 | 2,573 | -15.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 0.86 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kimes bearers went from 3,042 to 2,573 (-15.4% change). The surname moved down 1,123 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,541 to #11,664.
FAQ
Kimes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kimes?
Name Census estimates that about 2,951 living Americans carry the surname Kimes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,149 residents.
How common is Kimes?
Kimes ranks #11,664 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,573 people with the surname Kimes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,951), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kimes.
Has Kimes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kimes went from 3,042 recorded bearers to 2,573. That is a decrease of 469 (-15.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,541 to #11,664.
What does the Census say about the background of Kimes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kimes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Kimes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (2,161 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kimes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.0%), Black (6.6%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Kimes (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 Kimes mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "at the kimes," referring to a low marshy area. 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 Kimes (0.86 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 last name Kimes?
Want to know how many people have the surname Kimes? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.