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

Kornegay, 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 Kornegay surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kornegay in America

Kornegay is the 7116th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kornegay surname appeared 4,702 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Kornegay.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kornegay 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 Kornegay

The surname Kornegay is believed to have originated in England, likely during the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "corn" and "gehæg," which together translate to "a hedge or enclosure for corn." This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with someone who worked or lived near a cornfield or a farm.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the parish records of Gloucestershire, England, where a Thomas Kornegay was listed in 1624. There are also records of the name being spelled as "Cornegay" and "Cornagay" during this time period.

In the late 17th century, the Kornegay family began to migrate to the American colonies, with some of the earliest settlers arriving in Virginia and North Carolina. One notable individual from this time was John Kornegay, who was born in North Carolina around 1700 and served as a soldier during the American Revolutionary War.

As the Kornegay family continued to settle and spread throughout the United States, the name appeared in various historical records and documents. In the 1850 census, there were several Kornegay families recorded in North Carolina, including James Kornegay, who was born in 1810.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Kornegay name was associated with several notable individuals. One such person was William Kornegay, a lawyer and politician from North Carolina who served in the state legislature from 1869 to 1871. Another was John Kornegay, a Baptist minister and educator who was born in 1848 and founded several schools in North Carolina.

In the literary world, Horace Kornegay was a renowned American author and journalist who was born in 1896. He is best known for his novel "Swamp Water," which was later adapted into a film starring Walter Brennan and Walter Huston.

While the Kornegay surname may not be as widespread as some others, it has a rich history that can be traced back to its English roots and the early settlers who helped establish the name in the Americas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kornegay

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

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

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

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