2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kirkeide
A Norwegian surname derived from a farmstead name referring to a church site.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Kirkeide. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kirkeide 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Kirkeide in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkeide, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kirkeide
The surname KIRKEIDE originates from Norway, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old Norse words "kirkja" meaning "church" and "eiði" meaning "isthmus" or "narrow strip of land." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a church on a narrow peninsula or strip of land jutting into a body of water.
Records from the 13th century show variations of the spelling, such as "Kirkeide" and "Kirkeeide," appearing in various parts of western Norway, particularly in the regions of Rogaland and Hordaland. The name may have originated as a descriptive term for a specific location before becoming a hereditary surname.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Torstein Kirkeide, a farmer who lived in the village of Avaldsnes on the island of Karmøy in Rogaland during the late 13th century. His name is mentioned in local land records from that time.
In the 16th century, the KIRKEIDE surname appears in the records of the Bergens Kalvskind, a collection of documents related to land transactions and legal matters in the city of Bergen. One such record from 1542 mentions a man named Eirik Kirkeide who was involved in a property dispute.
During the 17th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Hans Kirkeide (1635-1701), a wealthy merchant and ship owner from Stavanger. He was one of the wealthiest men in the region and played a significant role in the local economy.
Another notable bearer of the KIRKEIDE name was Nils Kirkeide (1787-1867), a Norwegian politician and farmer who served as a member of the Storting, Norway's supreme legislature, in the mid-19th century.
In the 20th century, the name was carried by Olav Kirkeide (1912-1998), a Norwegian athlete who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he won a bronze medal in the pole vault event.
While the KIRKEIDE surname is relatively uncommon, it has a rich history rooted in the landscapes and traditions of western Norway, reflecting the country's linguistic and cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kirkeide
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkeide, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Kirkeide 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 Kirkeide surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 114
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kirkeide
Kirkeide 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+7 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,398 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-8 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,168 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 2,398 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 9,168 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 Kirkeide 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 | #137,327 | #146,495 | -6.7% |
| Count | 122 | 114 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kirkeide bearers went from 122 to 114 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 9,168 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #146,495.
FAQ
Kirkeide surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kirkeide?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Kirkeide. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Kirkeide?
Kirkeide ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Kirkeide. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Kirkeide.
Has Kirkeide become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kirkeide went from 122 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Kirkeide?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkeide, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Kirkeide in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kirkeide appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Kirkeide (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 Kirkeide mean?
A Norwegian surname derived from a farmstead name referring to a church site. 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 Kirkeide (0.04 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 surname Kirkeide?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.