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

Kinkead, 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 Kinkead surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kinkead in America

Kinkead is the 16261st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kinkead surname appeared 1,774 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kinkead.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kinkead 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 Kinkead

The surname Kinkead has its origins in the Scottish Highlands, emerging around the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "kin" meaning "head" and "cath" meaning "battle," suggesting a connection to warriors or leaders in battle.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical document that recorded the names of Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to Edward I of England. The entry "Gilchrist de Kyncad" is believed to refer to an individual with the surname Kinkead.

In the 16th century, the Kinkead family had established themselves in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. Records from this period show variations in spelling, such as Kincaid, Kyncade, and Kynkead.

During the Scottish Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries, many Kinkead families were forced to leave Scotland due to religious persecution. Some settled in Ulster, Northern Ireland, where the name became more prevalent. In County Antrim, the Kinkead name is associated with the town of Ballycastle, where a prominent Kinkead family resided.

One notable figure in Scottish history bearing the Kinkead surname was Sir John Kincaid (1580-1652), a Scottish nobleman and military officer who served as the Lord Provost of Edinburgh in the early 17th century.

In the realm of literature, Robert Kincaid (1832-1920) was a Scottish-born Canadian author and educator who wrote extensively about his experiences as a pioneer in Western Canada.

Another significant figure was Thomas Kinkead (1888-1972), an American naval aviator who played a crucial role in the development of aircraft carriers and naval aviation during the early 20th century.

The name Kinkead has also been associated with Ireland, where it is believed to have been introduced by Scottish settlers during the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century. One notable Irish Kinkead was John Kinkead (1766-1850), a United Irishman and political activist who was involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

While the Kinkead surname has its roots in Scotland, it has spread to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, where descendants of Scottish and Irish emigrants have carried on the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kinkead

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

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

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