2000
#5,500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,813
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.15
Rare Last name
Kirkman
A Scottish and English locational surname denoting someone from a place with a church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,449 Americans carry the last name Kirkman. That puts it at #5,912 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kirkman 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kirkman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.4K
1 in 53,148
Census rank
#5,912
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,624 bearers of the surname Kirkman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5912th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkman, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kirkman
The surname Kirkman is of English origin, derived from the Old English words 'cirice' meaning church and 'mann' meaning man. It initially referred to someone who lived near a church or worked for the church in some capacity.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century, with references found in the Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire in 1273, where it appeared as 'Kyrkeman'. Variations in spelling included Kyrkman, Kerkeman, and Kirckman.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the place name 'Kirkebi' (meaning 'church village' or 'church settlement') is mentioned, which may have been an early source for the surname Kirkman. This place name is believed to have referred to locations in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Kirkman was John Kirkman, a merchant from Yorkshire, who was active in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was Robert Kirkman (c. 1500-1572), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Bishop of Durham.
In the 17th century, Francis Kirkman (1632-1680) was a notable English author and bookseller who published several plays and literary works. He is best known for his collection of plays titled "The Wits, or, Sport upon Sport".
During the 18th century, Thomas Kirkman (1706-1795) was a renowned English mathematician and philosopher. He is credited with formulating the "Kirkman's Schoolgirl Problem", a combinatorial puzzle involving the arrangement of objects into groups.
Another prominent figure was John Kirkman (1804-1877), an English architect who designed several notable buildings in Lancashire, including St. Peter's Church in Burnley and St. Mary's Church in Clitheroe.
Throughout history, the surname Kirkman has been associated with various professions, including clergy, merchants, authors, mathematicians, and architects, reflecting its origins as a name connected to the church and its surrounding community.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kirkman
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkman, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Kirkman 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 Kirkman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 4,635
- Black or African American10.2% · 572
- Two or more races3.6% · 202
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 158
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kirkman
Kirkman 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
#5,611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,197
+384 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 2.10
Rank movement Down 111 places
2020
#5,912
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,624
-573 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 1.88
Rank movement Down 301 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,500 | 5,813 | 2.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,611 | 6,197 | 2.10 | +384 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 111 places |
| 2020 | #5,912 | 5,624 | 1.88 | -573 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 301 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 Kirkman 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 | #5,611 | #5,912 | -5.4% |
| Count | 6,197 | 5,624 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.10 | 1.88 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kirkman bearers went from 6,197 to 5,624 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 301 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,611 to #5,912.
FAQ
Kirkman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kirkman?
Name Census estimates that about 6,449 living Americans carry the surname Kirkman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,148 residents.
How common is Kirkman?
Kirkman ranks #5,912 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,624 people with the surname Kirkman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,449), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Kirkman.
Has Kirkman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kirkman went from 6,197 recorded bearers to 5,624. That is a decrease of 573 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,611 to #5,912.
What does the Census say about the background of Kirkman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkman, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Kirkman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (4,635 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kirkman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Black (10.2%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Kirkman (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 Kirkman mean?
A Scottish and English locational surname denoting someone from a place with a church. 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 Kirkman (1.88 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 common is the surname Kirkman?
Find out how common the surname Kirkman is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.