2000
#1,229
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,155
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.70
Uncommon Last name
Kirkpatrick
A Scottish locational surname referring to someone from Kirkpatrick, meaning "church of Saint Patrick" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 28,980 Americans carry the last name Kirkpatrick. That puts it at #1,375 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,827 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kirkpatrick 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 Kirkpatrick with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
29K
1 in 11,827
Census rank
#1,375
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,272 bearers of the surname Kirkpatrick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1375th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkpatrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kirkpatrick
The surname Kirkpatrick is of Scottish origin, with the earliest records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "cill" meaning church and "phadraig" meaning Patrick, referring to the parish church of St. Patrick.
The name is believed to have originated in the county of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, where the Kirkpatrick family held lands and properties since the 12th century. The first recorded mention of the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists several Kirkpatricks who were loyal to King Edward I of England.
One of the earliest and most notable members of the Kirkpatrick family was Sir Roger Kirkpatrick, who is said to have assisted Robert the Bruce in the murder of John Comyn, a rival claimant to the Scottish throne, in 1306. This event is considered a pivotal moment in the Scottish Wars of Independence.
Another prominent figure was Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, who served as a diplomat and ambassador for King James IV of Scotland in the early 16th century. He played a significant role in negotiating the marriage of James IV to Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, in 1503.
In the late 16th century, the Kirkpatrick family established themselves in the county of Closeburn, where they built the Closeburn Castle, which still stands today. One of the notable members from this branch was Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, who was knighted by King Charles I in 1633 for his military service.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, several Kirkpatricks made their mark in various fields, such as Alexander Kirkpatrick (1685-1758), a Scottish merchant and philanthropist who founded the Kirkpatrick Prize at the University of Edinburgh, and James Kirkpatrick (1728-1805), a Scottish soldier and diplomat who served in the East India Company and is known for his controversial marriage to a Muslim noblewoman in India.
Throughout history, the Kirkpatrick name has been associated with nobility, military service, and academic achievements, and it remains a prominent surname in Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom, as well as in North America, where many Kirkpatricks emigrated in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kirkpatrick
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkpatrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kirkpatrick 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 Kirkpatrick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.6% · 21,875
- Black or African American5.5% · 1,395
- Two or more races3.4% · 859
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 813
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 217
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 113
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kirkpatrick
Kirkpatrick 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
#1,344
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,251
+96 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 8.90
Rank movement Down 115 places
2020
#1,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,272
-979 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 8.46
Rank movement Down 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,229 | 26,155 | 9.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,344 | 26,251 | 8.90 | +96 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 115 places |
| 2020 | #1,375 | 25,272 | 8.46 | -979 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 31 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 Kirkpatrick 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 | #1,344 | #1,375 | -2.3% |
| Count | 26,251 | 25,272 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 8.90 | 8.46 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kirkpatrick bearers went from 26,251 to 25,272 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,344 to #1,375.
FAQ
Kirkpatrick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kirkpatrick?
Name Census estimates that about 28,980 living Americans carry the surname Kirkpatrick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,827 residents.
How common is Kirkpatrick?
Kirkpatrick ranks #1,375 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,272 people with the surname Kirkpatrick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (28,980), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Kirkpatrick.
Has Kirkpatrick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kirkpatrick went from 26,251 recorded bearers to 25,272. That is a decrease of 979 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,344 to #1,375.
What does the Census say about the background of Kirkpatrick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkpatrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Kirkpatrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (21,875 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kirkpatrick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.6%), Black (5.5%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Kirkpatrick (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 Kirkpatrick mean?
A Scottish locational surname referring to someone from Kirkpatrick, meaning "church of Saint Patrick" in Old English. 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 Kirkpatrick (8.46 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 Kirkpatrick?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Kirkpatrick, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.