2000
#10,344
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,852
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Kirkendall
From the Scottish place name Kirkendall, meaning "church in the valley," referring to someone who lived there.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,163 Americans carry the last name Kirkendall. That puts it at #11,016 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 108,364 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kirkendall 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
3.2K
1 in 108,364
Census rank
#11,016
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,758 bearers of the surname Kirkendall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11016th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkendall, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kirkendall
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkendall, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kirkendall 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 Kirkendall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 2,383
- Black or African American4.7% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 120
- Two or more races3.4% · 95
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kirkendall
Kirkendall 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
#10,923
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,914
+62 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 579 places
2020
#11,016
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,758
-156 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 93 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,344 | 2,852 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,923 | 2,914 | 0.99 | +62 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 579 places |
| 2020 | #11,016 | 2,758 | 0.92 | -156 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 93 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 Kirkendall 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 | #10,923 | #11,016 | -0.9% |
| Count | 2,914 | 2,758 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.92 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kirkendall bearers went from 2,914 to 2,758 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 93 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,923 to #11,016.
FAQ
Kirkendall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kirkendall?
Name Census estimates that about 3,163 living Americans carry the surname Kirkendall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 108,364 residents.
How common is Kirkendall?
Kirkendall ranks #11,016 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.92 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 2,758 people with the surname Kirkendall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,163), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.92 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 Kirkendall.
Has Kirkendall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kirkendall went from 2,914 recorded bearers to 2,758. That is a decrease of 156 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,923 to #11,016.
What does the Census say about the background of Kirkendall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkendall, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Kirkendall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (2,383 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kirkendall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Black (4.7%), Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Kirkendall (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 Kirkendall mean?
From the Scottish place name Kirkendall, meaning "church in the valley," referring to someone who lived there. 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 Kirkendall (0.92 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 are called Kirkendall?
Find out how many people have the surname Kirkendall on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.