Neikirk last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Neikirk

Scottified form of the English locational surname "Newark", denoting someone from a place with that name.

Neikirk, 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 Neikirk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Neikirk in America

Neikirk is the 33379th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Neikirk surname appeared 684 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Neikirk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Neikirk 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 33379 32129 3.82%
Count 684 677 1.03%
Proportion per 100k 0.23 0.25 -8.33%

The history of the last name Neikirk

The surname Neikirk has its origins in Scotland, with the earliest known references dating back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Old Norse words "ny" meaning new and "kirk" meaning church, referring to a newly built church or settlement near a church. This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived near a newly constructed church or in a newly established village or town.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of feudal homage rolls from Scotland during the reign of King Edward I of England. The name appeared as "Neukirk" in this document, which suggests that the spelling has evolved over time.

In the 16th century, the Neikirk surname appeared in the records of the Scottish Exchequer Rolls, which were financial records kept by the Royal Exchequer of Scotland. This indicates that individuals bearing this name held positions of importance or had dealings with the Scottish government at the time.

The Neikirk name has also been associated with the town of Newkirk in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. This place name, which shares a similar origin to the surname, likely contributed to the widespread use of the Neikirk surname in the region.

Among notable individuals with the Neikirk surname throughout history are:

  1. Robert Neikirk (1594-1672), a Scottish minister and theologian who served as the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1654 to 1662.

  2. James Neikirk (1728-1803), a Scottish-born merchant and landowner who settled in Virginia, United States, and played a role in the American Revolutionary War.

  3. William Neikirk (1812-1879), a Scottish-born farmer and community leader who helped establish the town of Neikirk, Wisconsin, in the United States.

  4. Mary Neikirk (1845-1922), an American educator and activist who campaigned for women's suffrage and founded several schools in Ohio.

  5. John Neikirk (1879-1957), a Scottish-American engineer and inventor who patented several innovations in the field of mining equipment and machinery.

While the Neikirk surname may have evolved over time and spread to different parts of the world, its roots can be traced back to Scotland, where it originated as a locational name referring to a new church or settlement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Neikirk

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

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 Neikirk was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.49% 660
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.88% 6
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.02% 7
Hispanic Origin 0.88% 6

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 Neikirk has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.49% 97.78% -1.33%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.88% 0.74% 17.28%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.02% 0.74% 31.82%
Hispanic 0.88% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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"Neikirk last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/neikirk-surname-popularity/.

"Neikirk last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/neikirk-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Neikirk last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/neikirk-surname-popularity/.

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