2000
#7,003
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,413
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.64
Rare Last name
Kornegay
Originated from the German name Körner, meaning "grain merchant" or "corn trader," later anglicized to Kornegay.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,999 Americans carry the last name Kornegay. That puts it at #7,375 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,565 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kornegay 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.
Bearers in the US
5.0K
1 in 68,565
Census rank
#7,375
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,359 bearers of the surname Kornegay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7375th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kornegay, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kornegay
Among Census respondents with the surname Kornegay, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Kornegay 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 Kornegay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.3% · 2,106
- Black or African American44.6% · 1,946
- Two or more races4.2% · 181
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kornegay
Kornegay 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
#7,116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,702
+289 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.59
Rank movement Down 113 places
2020
#7,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,359
-343 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 259 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,003 | 4,413 | 1.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,116 | 4,702 | 1.59 | +289 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 113 places |
| 2020 | #7,375 | 4,359 | 1.46 | -343 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 259 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 Kornegay 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 | #7,116 | #7,375 | -3.6% |
| Count | 4,702 | 4,359 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.59 | 1.46 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kornegay bearers went from 4,702 to 4,359 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 259 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,116 to #7,375.
FAQ
Kornegay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kornegay?
Name Census estimates that about 4,999 living Americans carry the surname Kornegay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,565 residents.
How common is Kornegay?
Kornegay ranks #7,375 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,359 people with the surname Kornegay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,999), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kornegay.
Has Kornegay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kornegay went from 4,702 recorded bearers to 4,359. That is a decrease of 343 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,116 to #7,375.
What does the Census say about the background of Kornegay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kornegay, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Kornegay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.3% (2,106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kornegay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.3%), Black (44.6%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Kornegay (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 Kornegay mean?
Originated from the German name Körner, meaning "grain merchant" or "corn trader," later anglicized to Kornegay. 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 Kornegay (1.46 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 have the surname Kornegay?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.