The Kite surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,457 people carried this name — #6,258 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 54,100 people counted. That is up 10% from 4,962 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kite surname

As an English surname, from the noun kite (“bird of prey”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kite» (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 nickname: ‘the kite’.

An early record he cites: Hugo Kyte, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 457 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

25 Kite families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 113 people lived in those households, 4.5 to a family on average. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 9
Pennsylvania 8
Virginia 7
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 248 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Kite in American newspapers,
1896–1905.

Newspaper page from The Pensacola Journal carrying the name Kite
The Pensacola Journal 1905-11-16
Newspaper page from Gainesville Daily Sun carrying the name Kite
Gainesville Daily Sun 1905-11-16
Newspaper page from The San Francisco Call carrying the name Kite
The San Francisco Call 1896-05-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,745 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kite in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

12,107 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kite. The most, 1,998, date from the 1880s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 5,992
Victoria 1,933
South Australia 1,674
Queensland 1,349
Tasmania 667
Western Australia 415
ACT (Canberra) 62
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Kite,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Kite
    Robert Kite 1707–1772 · politician
  • Jessie Kite
    Jessie Kite 1892–1958 · artistic gymnast
  • Clement Cresson Kite d. 1939
  • Benjamin Kite 1754–1838
  • Thomas Kite 1785–1845 · Christian minister
  • Mary Kite 1793–1861 · Christian minister

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 Kite,
in the records of 6 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 States359 records

359 records of the Kite name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 172
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 63
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 51
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 36
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 24
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 10
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold F. Kite

    Born 1917 in Alabama. Enlisted 1944 at Fort McPherson Atlanta, Georgia; driver. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Parkhill Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Harry Turner Kite

    Born 1947; from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ann Kite

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Rappahannock from Liverpool, aged 39; housekeeper. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 359 records for Kite in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia243 records

243 records of the Kite name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 132
  • Tasmanian Names Index 35
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 25
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 24
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 21
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 5
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  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 Hannah Kite

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mary, sailing from London in 1831. Native of Birmingham, Warwickshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1835. Married 1836 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    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 Abraham Harry Kite

    Died 1920 in Gormanston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1920.

    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 Edith Kite

    Arrived in Victoria in 1914 aboard the Osterley, aged 51.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 243 records for Kite in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (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).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the Kite name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 12
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 1
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record George H. Kite

    Died 1918. Named in the roll of honour (1926).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. G. Kite

    Devonshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. J. Kite

    Grenadier Guards. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Kite in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada12 records

12 records of the Kite name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 9
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Kite

    Died 1897 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

    Died 1943; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record George Robert Graham Kite

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 12 records for Kite in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand8 records

8 records of the Kite 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 Henry Kite

    Died 1883, aged 48; buried at Addington 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 Henry Ernest Kite

    Died 1924, aged 60; buried at Linwood 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 Frederick William Kite

    Died 1916, aged 42; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Kite 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Kite 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 Elizabeth Kite

    Married in 1738 in Rotterdam; born in Kile.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kite.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kite 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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