The Kirkwood surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,227 people carried this name — #4,320 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 35,800 people counted. That is up 3% from 7,977 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kirkwood surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kirkwood» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the kirk wood’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 456 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 8 births for the Kirkwood name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “7 in Antrim and 1 in Limerick.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 7
Munster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

Kirkwood was recorded 60 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 439th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 104. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Kirkwood in American newspapers,
1909.

Newspaper page from The Durham Recorder carrying the name Kirkwood
The Durham Recorder 1909-08-19
Newspaper page from The Durham Recorder carrying the name Kirkwood
The Durham Recorder 1909-07-15
Newspaper page from The Durham Recorder carrying the name Kirkwood
The Durham Recorder 1909-08-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 115,856 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kirkwood in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

33,293 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kirkwood. The most, 5,436, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 10,581
New South Wales 9,094
Queensland 6,194
Western Australia 2,887
Tasmania 2,869
South Australia 1,480
ACT (Canberra) 105
Northern Territory 27

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kirkwood.

Who carried it

People named Kirkwood,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James P. Kirkwood
    James P. Kirkwood 1807–1877 · engineer
  • Samuel J. Kirkwood
    Samuel J. Kirkwood 1813–1894 · teacher
  • Donovan Kirkwood d. 2025 · photographer
  • James Kirkwood d. 1711 · writer
  • Harry Kirkwood d. 1977 · explorer
  • Harriet Amelia Warner d. 1893

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kirkwood,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,044 records

1,044 records of the Kirkwood name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 281
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 257
  • Other U.S. records 506
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Aaron Kirkwood

    Born 1918 in Texas. Enlisted 1941 at Houston; driver from Harris County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1991, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Kirkwood

    Arrived at New York in 1835 aboard the John Hale from Greenock, aged 31; weaver. From Edinburgh, Scotland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Deryl Ramon Kirkwood

    Born 1947; from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Dinh Tuong, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,044 records for Kirkwood in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia1,040 records

1,040 records of the Kirkwood name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 531
  • Tasmanian Names Index 165
  • Other Australian records 344
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Kirkwood

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Emma Eugenia, sailing from London in 1850. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1852. Married 1852 in Brighton, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Kirkwood

    Died 1896 in Fingal, Tasmania, aged 62. Will registered in Tasmania in 1896.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Rose Kirkwood

    Arrived in Queensland in 1889 aboard the Jumna, aged 23.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,040 records for Kirkwood in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada79 records

79 records of the Kirkwood name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 30
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 20
  • Other Canadian records 29
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Al'd Kirkwood

    Came to Ontario in 1871 aboard the Peruvian, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Walter Kirkwood

    Died 1940 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Richard Kirkwood

    Buried in 1959 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 79 records for Kirkwood in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom72 records

72 records of the Kirkwood name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 53
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 11
  • Other British records 8
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Hugh Mitchell Kirkwood

    Buried in 1933 at Snowdon Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 75.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Frederick Charles Kirkwood

    Will proved in 1938; of Deganwy, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Robert Kirkwood

    Killed or died by 1921. Named in the George Heriot's School roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 72 records for Kirkwood in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand10 records

10 records of the Kirkwood name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Kirkwood

    Died 1906, aged 30; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Ann Kirkwood

    Died 1890, aged 62; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Roy Francis Kirkwood

    Died 1973, aged 62; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Kirkwood in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Kirkwood name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elisabeth Kirkwood

    Married in 1747 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Allison Kirkwood

    Married in 1750 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Kirkwood in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France2 records

2 records of the Kirkwood name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Caroline Anne Kirkwood

    Born 1934 in Great Britain; died 2000 in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Helen Philip Kirkwood

    Born 1907 in the United Kingdom; died 1991 in Champtercier (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kirkwood.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kirkwood is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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