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

Kinnear, 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 Kinnear surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kinnear in America

Kinnear is the 14834th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kinnear surname appeared 1,998 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 Kinnear.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kinnear 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 Kinnear

The surname Kinnear has its origins in Scotland, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Gaelic words "cionn" meaning "head" and "fhear" meaning "man," suggesting that it may have originally referred to a clan chief or leader.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various Scottish historical documents and manuscripts. One notable example is a charter from the reign of King William the Lion (1165-1214), which mentions a "Gillebride Kinnear" as a witness to a land grant.

In the 13th century, the Kinnears were a prominent family in the county of Fife, with several members holding positions of importance in the local government and church. The name is also found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from this period, indicating that members of the family were involved in financial and administrative matters.

One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the Kinnear name was Sir John Kinnear (c. 1370-1456), a Scottish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England. He was rewarded for his service with lands in Fife and was appointed as the Sheriff of Kinross-shire.

Another prominent Kinnear was George Kinnear (1670-1738), a Scottish merchant and philanthropist who made his fortune in the West Indies trade. He donated a significant sum of money to establish the Kinnear Free School in Edinburgh, which provided education to underprivileged children.

In the 19th century, the Kinnears spread beyond Scotland, with members of the family settling in various parts of the British Empire. One such individual was Sir John George Kinnear (1801-1874), a British civil servant who served as the Chief Justice of Madras Presidency in India.

Other notable Kinnears include:

1. George Kinnear (1775-1830), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the prestigious Order of the Bath.
2. Thomas Kinnear (1828-1895), a Scottish-born Australian politician and businessman who served as the Premier of South Australia from 1881 to 1884.
3. Boyd Kinnear (1832-1888), a Scottish-born Australian explorer and surveyor who played a key role in mapping the interior of Western Australia.
4. Alfred Kinnear (1882-1970), an English cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club and the English national team in the early 20th century.
5. Euphemia Kinnear (1887-1977), a Scottish suffragette and campaigner for women's rights, who was imprisoned for her activism during the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kinnear

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

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

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

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