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

Kincaid, 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 Kincaid surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kincaid in America

Kincaid is the 2000th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kincaid surname appeared 18,075 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Kincaid.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kincaid 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 Kincaid

The surname Kincaid is of Scottish origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "ceann" meaning head and "cath" meaning battle, thus translating to "head of the battle" or "leader in battle". The name was likely given as a nickname or epithet to a distinguished warrior or chieftain.

The earliest recorded bearer of the name was Richard de Kyncaith, who is mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical document recording the names of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name is believed to have originated in the region of Stirlingshire, Scotland.

In the 16th century, the Kincaids were a prominent family in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the counties of Stirling and Lennox. The Kincaid Baronetcy of Bantaskine was created in 1686 for John Kincaid, a member of the Scottish Parliament.

One notable bearer of the name was Alexander Kincaid (1618-1699), a Scottish churchman who served as the Bishop of Aberdeen and played a significant role in the Scottish Episcopal Church during a tumultuous period of religious turmoil.

Another famous Kincaid was James Kincaid (1629-1699), a Scottish merchant and politician who served as the Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1688 to 1689. He was instrumental in securing the city's support for the Glorious Revolution that brought William of Orange to the British throne.

In literature, the name gained prominence through the fictional character of Godfrey Kincaid, a recurring figure in the historical novels of Sir Walter Scott, such as "The Antiquary" and "The Abbot".

In the United States, the name Kincaid has been present since the 18th century, with many descendants of Scottish immigrants bearing the surname. One notable American Kincaid was Brigadier General John Kincaid (1816-1883), who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Jonesboro.

Throughout history, variations in spelling have included Kyncaith, Kyncade, Kincade, and Kincaide, reflecting the phonetic transcription and regional dialects of the time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kincaid

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!