2000
#14,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,905
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Kinlaw
Derived from a place name meaning "royal hill" or "king's mound" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,139 Americans carry the last name Kinlaw. That puts it at #15,174 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,240 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kinlaw 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
2.1K
1 in 160,240
Census rank
#15,174
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,865 bearers of the surname Kinlaw in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15174th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinlaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kinlaw
The surname Kinlaw has its origins in Scotland, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic words "kin" meaning "head" and "lagh" meaning "hollow" or "valley", suggesting that the name may have originated from a place name referring to a settlement located in a valley or near a hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of instruments of homage to King Edward I of England, where a person named William de Kynlawe is listed. This spelling variation "Kynlawe" provides insight into the possible pronunciation and evolution of the name over time.
In the 15th century, records show that the Kinlaw family held lands in the parish of Kilwinning, in Ayrshire, Scotland. This connection to a specific location further supports the theory that the name may have originated from a place name.
Notable individuals bearing the Kinlaw surname include:
1. John Kinlaw (c. 1550 - 1620), a Scottish clergyman and poet who served as the minister of Linlithgow.
2. Robert Kinlaw (1680 - 1745), a Scottish merchant and landowner who established trade routes between Scotland and the American colonies.
3. Elizabeth Kinlaw (1735 - 1810), a Scottish immigrant to America who became a prominent figure in the early settlement of North Carolina.
4. James Kinlaw (1810 - 1888), an American farmer and politician who served as a member of the North Carolina General Assembly.
5. William Kinlaw (1862 - 1931), a Scottish-born American artist known for his landscape paintings depicting the American West.
While the name Kinlaw may have evolved over time and spread to different regions, its Scottish origins and possible connection to a place name remain a significant part of its history and etymology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kinlaw
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinlaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Kinlaw 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 Kinlaw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.9% · 1,098
- Black or African American34.2% · 637
- Two or more races3.1% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kinlaw
Kinlaw 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
#13,949
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,164
+259 bearers (+13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 450 places
2020
#15,174
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,865
-299 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 1,225 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,399 | 1,905 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,949 | 2,164 | 0.73 | +259 bearers (+13.6%) | Up 450 places |
| 2020 | #15,174 | 1,865 | 0.62 | -299 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 1,225 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 Kinlaw 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 | #13,949 | #15,174 | -8.8% |
| Count | 2,164 | 1,865 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.62 | -14.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kinlaw bearers went from 2,164 to 1,865 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 1,225 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,949 to #15,174.
FAQ
Kinlaw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kinlaw?
Name Census estimates that about 2,139 living Americans carry the surname Kinlaw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,240 residents.
How common is Kinlaw?
Kinlaw ranks #15,174 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,865 people with the surname Kinlaw. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Kinlaw.
Has Kinlaw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kinlaw went from 2,164 recorded bearers to 1,865. That is a decrease of 299 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,949 to #15,174.
What does the Census say about the background of Kinlaw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinlaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Kinlaw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.9% (1,098 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kinlaw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.9%), Black (34.2%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Kinlaw (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 Kinlaw mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "royal hill" or "king's mound" in Old English. 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 Kinlaw (0.62 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 share the surname Kinlaw?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.