2000
#4,115
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,977
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.96
Rare Last name
Kirkwood
A locational surname denoting someone from a place with a church in or near a wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,987 Americans carry the last name Kirkwood. That puts it at #4,378 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,139 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kirkwood 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 Kirkwood with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.0K
1 in 38,139
Census rank
#4,378
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,837 bearers of the surname Kirkwood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4378th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kirkwood
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kirkwood 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 Kirkwood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.5% · 4,977
- Black or African American28.0% · 2,193
- Two or more races4.4% · 347
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 229
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kirkwood
Kirkwood 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
#4,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,227
+250 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 2.79
Rank movement Down 205 places
2020
#4,378
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,837
-390 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.62
Rank movement Down 58 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,115 | 7,977 | 2.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,320 | 8,227 | 2.79 | +250 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 205 places |
| 2020 | #4,378 | 7,837 | 2.62 | -390 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 58 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 Kirkwood 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 | #4,320 | #4,378 | -1.3% |
| Count | 8,227 | 7,837 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.79 | 2.62 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kirkwood bearers went from 8,227 to 7,837 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 58 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,320 to #4,378.
FAQ
Kirkwood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kirkwood?
Name Census estimates that about 8,987 living Americans carry the surname Kirkwood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,139 residents.
How common is Kirkwood?
Kirkwood ranks #4,378 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,837 people with the surname Kirkwood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,987), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Kirkwood.
Has Kirkwood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kirkwood went from 8,227 recorded bearers to 7,837. That is a decrease of 390 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,320 to #4,378.
What does the Census say about the background of Kirkwood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirkwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (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 Kirkwood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.5% (4,977 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kirkwood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.5%), Black (28.0%), Two or More Races (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 Kirkwood (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 Kirkwood mean?
A locational surname denoting someone from a place with a church in or near a wood. 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 Kirkwood (2.62 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 share the surname Kirkwood?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.