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

Kinkel, 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 Kinkel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kinkel in America

Kinkel is the 19697th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kinkel surname appeared 1,368 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 Kinkel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kinkel 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 Kinkel

The surname Kinkel has its origins in Germany, and it can be traced back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Middle Low German word "kinkel," which means "bend" or "curve." It is believed that the name was initially given to someone who lived near a bend in a river or a winding road.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kinkel can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a collection of medieval records from the Westphalia region of Germany, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in the Dortmunder Bürgerbuch, a registry of citizens in the city of Dortmund, which dates back to the 14th century.

During the Middle Ages, the Kinkel family was prominent in the Rhineland region of Germany. In the 16th century, Johannes Kinkel (1496-1557) was a renowned theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.

In the 18th century, Gottfried Kinkel (1715-1788) was a notable German philosopher and writer who authored several works on ethics and morality. His son, Johann Gottfried Kinkel (1765-1845), was a prominent lawyer and judge in the city of Bonn.

Johann Baptist Kinkel (1801-1866) was a German writer, poet, and revolutionary who was involved in the German revolutions of 1848-1849. He was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for his participation in the revolution but later escaped and fled to England.

Another notable figure with the surname Kinkel was Walter Kinkel (1870-1938), a German architect who designed several iconic buildings in Berlin, including the Reichsbank and the Kriegsministerium (War Ministry).

While the surname Kinkel has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration. However, the origins and historical significance of the name remain firmly rooted in the German cultural and linguistic tradition.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kinkel

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

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

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

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