Kinnersley last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Kinnersley

A locational surname derived from the village of Kinnersley in Herefordshire, England.

Kinnersley, 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 Kinnersley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kinnersley in America

Kinnersley is the 116201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kinnersley surname appeared 150 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 Kinnersley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kinnersley 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank116201127186-9.03%
Count15012418.98%
Proportion per 100k0.050.050.00%

The history of the last name Kinnersley

The surname Kinnersley has its origins in England, where it first emerged as a locational surname in the medieval period. It is derived from the place name Kinnersley, a small village located in Herefordshire, near the Welsh border. The name Kinnersley is thought to be derived from the Old English words "cyning" meaning king and "leah" meaning meadow or woodland clearing.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kinnersley dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Chinardeslei". This entry suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the time of the Norman Conquest.

In the 13th century, records show a Sir Roger de Kinnersley, who was a prominent landowner in Herefordshire. Sir Roger's descendants continued to hold land and influence in the area for several generations.

During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Kinnersley was Sir Clement Kinnersley (c. 1500 - 1575), who served as a member of Parliament for Herefordshire and played a role in the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII.

Another notable individual with the surname Kinnersley was Sir Thomas Kinnersley (1561 - 1625), who was a member of the English gentry and served as a Justice of the Peace in Herefordshire.

In the 17th century, a prominent member of the Kinnersley family was Sir Francis Kinnersley (1617 - 1687), who was a royalist during the English Civil War and later served as a member of Parliament under King Charles II.

As the surname spread beyond its original geographical roots, it acquired various alternative spellings, such as Kynnersley, Kynnardsley, and Kinnardsley, which can be found in historical records from different regions of England.

While the Kinnersley surname has its deepest roots in Herefordshire, it has since become more widely distributed throughout England and beyond, with bearers of the name making their mark in various fields over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kinnersley

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

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 Kinnersley was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only90.00%135
Non-Hispanic Black Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races4.00%6
Hispanic Origin4.00%6

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 Kinnersley has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White90.00%95.97%-6.42%
Black0.00%0.00%0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)%(S)%
Two or More Races4.00%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic4.00%(S)%(S)%

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

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.

Search
Search
Background shape