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

Kinghorn, 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 Kinghorn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kinghorn in America

Kinghorn is the 22450th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kinghorn surname appeared 1,146 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 Kinghorn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kinghorn 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 Kinghorn

The surname KINGHORN originated in Scotland during the Middle Ages, deriving from the small town of the same name located in Fife. The name is believed to have derived from the Old English words "cyning" meaning "king" and "horn" referring to a prominent coastal headland, thus translating to "the king's headland."

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1290, which reference a "Thomas de Kyngorne." This suggests the name was already established by the late 13th century among families residing in or near the town of Kinghorn.

In the late 14th century, a charter dated 1392 granted lands in Fife to a John de Kyngorne, indicating the surname was associated with landowners in the region during this period. The spelling variations "Kynghorn" and "Kyngorne" were common in medieval records before the modern spelling became standardized.

The famous Scottish philosopher and historian, David Hume, was born in 1711 in Edinburgh to a family with the KINGHORN surname, though it was spelled as "Home." Hume's ancestors are believed to have originated from the Kinghorn area before relocating to the capital city.

In the 18th century, a notable figure was Lieutenant Colonel Patrick KINGHORN, who served in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in 1735 and played a role in the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.

Another historic individual with this surname was James KINGHORN, a Scottish minister and theologian born in 1776. He served as a prominent leader in the Congregational Church and was a prolific writer on theological subjects until his death in 1857.

During the 19th century, a well-known bearer of the KINGHORN name was John Elliot KINGHORN, a British naval officer and explorer. Born in 1809, he participated in several Arctic expeditions and served as the commander of the HMS Resolute during the search for the missing Franklin expedition in the 1850s.

While the surname's origins can be traced back to the medieval Scottish town, bearers of the KINGHORN name have since spread throughout the British Isles and beyond, with notable individuals emerging in various fields over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kinghorn

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kinghorn, 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!