2000
#10,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,668
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Kinnard
Derived from the Old English words "cyne" and "heard," meaning "royal" and "brave" or "hardy," respectively.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,971 Americans carry the last name Kinnard. That puts it at #11,598 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 115,367 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kinnard 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kinnard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 115,367
Census rank
#11,598
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,591 bearers of the surname Kinnard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11598th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinnard, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kinnard
The surname Kinnard is of Scottish origin, originating from the parish of Kinnaird in Perthshire, Scotland. The name derives from the Gaelic words 'ceann' meaning 'head' and 'ard' meaning 'high', suggesting it was likely a topographic name given to someone who lived near a high promontory or headland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name appears as 'Kynard' in this record. The Kinnard family held lands in Perthshire and Angus, with their ancestral home being the estate of Inchture near Dundee.
In the 15th century, a notable member of the family was John Kinnard, who served as the Abbot of Arbroath from 1456 to 1459. Another early recorded person with this surname was Thomas Kinnard, born around 1520, who was a wealthy landowner in Angus.
The Kinnard surname can also be found in various Scottish historical records, such as the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland and the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, which document land transactions and charters granted to members of the family.
During the 17th century, the Kinnards of Inchture were staunch Royalists and supported King Charles I during the English Civil War. One notable figure from this period was Sir George Kinnard (1619-1684), who was knighted for his loyalty to the crown and served as a Member of Parliament for Perthshire.
As the Kinnard family spread throughout Scotland and beyond, variations in the spelling of the surname emerged, such as Kinnaird, Kinnard, Kinnert, and Kinnert. Prominent individuals with this surname include Sir John Kinnard (1774-1830), a Scottish naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and James Kinnard (1832-1917), a Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Kinnard Furniture Company in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kinnard
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinnard, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Kinnard 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 Kinnard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.9% · 1,553
- Black or African American30.8% · 798
- Two or more races4.6% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kinnard
Kinnard 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
#10,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,961
+293 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Up 174 places
2020
#11,598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,591
-370 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 826 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,946 | 2,668 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,772 | 2,961 | 1.00 | +293 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 174 places |
| 2020 | #11,598 | 2,591 | 0.87 | -370 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 826 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 Kinnard 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 | #10,772 | #11,598 | -7.7% |
| Count | 2,961 | 2,591 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.00 | 0.87 | -13.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kinnard bearers went from 2,961 to 2,591 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 826 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,772 to #11,598.
FAQ
Kinnard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kinnard?
Name Census estimates that about 2,971 living Americans carry the surname Kinnard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 115,367 residents.
How common is Kinnard?
Kinnard ranks #11,598 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 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 2,591 people with the surname Kinnard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,971), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 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 Kinnard.
Has Kinnard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kinnard went from 2,961 recorded bearers to 2,591. That is a decrease of 370 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,772 to #11,598.
What does the Census say about the background of Kinnard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinnard, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Kinnard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.9% (1,553 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kinnard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.9%), Black (30.8%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Kinnard (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 Kinnard mean?
Derived from the Old English words "cyne" and "heard," meaning "royal" and "brave" or "hardy," respectively. 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 Kinnard (0.87 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 have the last name Kinnard?
You can see how common the surname Kinnard is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.