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

Kirkendall, 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 Kirkendall surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kirkendall in America

Kirkendall is the 10923rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kirkendall surname appeared 2,914 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 Kirkendall.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kirkendall 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 Kirkendall

The surname Kirkendall has its origins in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around the town of Kirchendall. The name is believed to have emerged in the 12th century, derived from the old German words "kirche" meaning church and "dahl" or "dal" meaning valley or dale. Therefore, the name essentially translates to "church valley" or "valley of the church."

The earliest known records of the Kirkendall name can be traced back to the late 13th century, where it appeared in various medieval manuscripts and land records from the region. One notable reference is found in the Kirchenbuch von Kirchendall, a church register dating back to 1298, which mentions several individuals with the surname Kirchendall or variations such as Kirchendal and Kirchen-dahl.

In the 15th century, the name Kirkendall began to spread beyond its original geographic confines, with records showing individuals bearing the name in nearby areas of modern-day Germany and the Low Countries. One of the earliest known individuals with the surname was Hans Kirchendall, a blacksmith born in Kirchendall around 1420.

As the centuries passed, the spelling of the name evolved, with variations such as Kirchen-dahl, Kirchendal, and eventually Kirkendall becoming more common. In the late 16th century, a branch of the Kirkendall family migrated to the Netherlands, where the name took on the Dutch spelling Kerkendaal.

Notable individuals with the surname Kirkendall throughout history include:

1. Gerhard Kirkendall (1587-1649), a German merchant and landowner who established a successful trading company in Cologne.
2. Willem Kerkendaal (1632-1698), a Dutch artist known for his landscape paintings and etchings.
3. Johann Kirchendall (1712-1782), a German Lutheran minister who served as a chaplain during the Seven Years' War.
4. Elizabeth Kirkendall (1745-1821), an American Revolutionary War heroine known for her role in the Battle of Oriskany.
5. Carl Kirchendall (1856-1928), a German-American inventor and engineer who pioneered early developments in television technology.

While the Kirkendall name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread across various parts of the world, particularly in regions with significant German and Dutch immigration, such as the United States and Canada.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kirkendall

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

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

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

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