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

Kuykendall, 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 Kuykendall surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kuykendall in America

Kuykendall is the 3608th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kuykendall surname appeared 9,841 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 Kuykendall.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kuykendall 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 Kuykendall

The surname Kuykendall is thought to have originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch words "kuiken," meaning chicken, and "dal," meaning valley. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived or worked in a valley where chickens were raised.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kuykendall name can be found in the Dutch records from the city of Eindhoven in the late 1500s. It is believed that the name may have originated in this region before eventually spreading to other parts of the Netherlands and beyond.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, several Kuykendall families immigrated to the American colonies, particularly in areas such as New York and Virginia. One notable early figure with this surname was Lourens Kuykendall, who was born in the Netherlands around 1655 and later settled in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City).

In the 19th century, the Kuykendall name gained prominence in several parts of the United States. Alvah Kuykendall (1798-1879) was a prominent American soldier and politician who served in the War of 1812 and later became a member of the Mississippi State Legislature. Another notable figure was Andrew J. Kuykendall (1815-1889), a lawyer and judge from Tennessee.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several Kuykendalls made their mark in various fields. Walter Kuykendall (1857-1933) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Oregon State Senate. Ralph S. Kuykendall (1885-1963) was an influential historian and professor at the University of Hawaii, known for his extensive research on Hawaiian history.

One of the most famous individuals with the Kuykendall surname in recent times was Dorothy Kuykendall (1922-2013), an American author and journalist who wrote several novels and non-fiction works, including her widely acclaimed memoir "The Trail in the Morning."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kuykendall

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

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

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

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