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

Kirkwood, 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 Kirkwood surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kirkwood in America

Kirkwood is the 4320th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kirkwood surname appeared 8,227 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Kirkwood.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kirkwood 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 Kirkwood

The surname Kirkwood is of Scottish origin, deriving from the Old English words "cirice" meaning church and "wudu" meaning wood. It refers to someone who lived near or worked at a church in the woods. The surname first appeared in the late 12th century in the county of Lanarkshire, located in the central Lowlands region of Scotland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kirkwood can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England during his campaign to conquer Scotland. The name appears as "Kirkvod" in this record. Similarly, in 1376, a charter from Kilwinning Abbey in Ayrshire mentions a "Roberto de Kyrwode."

In the 16th century, the Kirkwood surname was primarily concentrated in the Scottish Borders region, particularly in the areas of Selkirkshire and Roxburghshire. The Scottish writer and essayist, James Kirkwood (1650-1709), was born in Kirkpatrick-Fleming, Dumfriesshire, and is one of the earliest notable figures with this surname.

As the surname spread across Scotland, several variations in spelling emerged, including Kirkwode, Kirkvode, and Kirkwod. In the 17th century, the name appeared in the records of the Burgh of Lanark as "Kirkwod." Thomas Kirkwood (1678-1751), a Presbyterian minister from Roxburghshire, was an influential figure in the Church of Scotland during this time.

The Kirkwood surname also has a connection to place names in Scotland. Kirkwood, a small village in East Ayrshire, likely derived its name from the surname. Additionally, there is a Kirkwood Parish in the Scottish Borders region, located near the town of Selkirk.

Other notable individuals bearing the Kirkwood surname include:

1. James Kirkwood (1776-1828), a Scottish-American pioneer and founder of the city of Kirkwood, Missouri.
2. Robert Kirkwood (1756-1837), a Scottish-American mathematician and astronomer who served as a professor at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).
3. James Brown Kirkwood (1876-1939), a Scottish-American physicist and chemist known for his contributions to statistical mechanics and the development of the Kirkwood-Buff theory.
4. Catherine Kirkwood (1888-1989), a Scottish artist and painter known for her landscape and portrait works.
5. James Kirkwood Jr. (1924-1989), an American playwright and author, best known for his semi-autobiographical novel "There Must Be a Pony!" and the adaptation of the musical "A Chorus Line."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kirkwood

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

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

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

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