Explore the Family Name Kirkley

The meaning of Kirkley

English (northern, especially Durham): habitational name from Kirkley (Suffolk), or Kirkley in Ponteland (Northumberland). The Suffolk placename derives from Old Norse kirkja ‘church’ + Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing’. The Northumb placename derives from British crouco- ‘hill, barrow’ + Old English hlāw ‘hill, mound’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kirkley in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Kirkley slightly decreased from 2000 to 2010. The ranking of the name fell by approximately 2.77% from 13,400 in 2000 to 13,771 in 2010. However, the number of individuals with the Kirkley surname increased by 5.42% from 2,084 in 2000 to 2,197 in 2010. Despite this increase, the proportion of the Kirkley surname per 100,000 people saw a decrease of 3.9% from 0.77 in 2000 to 0.74 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#13,400	#13,771	-2.77%
Count	2,084	2,197	5.42%
Proportion per 100k	0.77	0.74	-3.9%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kirkley

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Kirkley also experienced changes between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The largest increases were seen in Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic ethnicities, which grew by 111.63% and 135.85%, respectively. However, the percentage of those identifying as White and Black saw slight decreases of 1.85% and 2.69% respectively. Those identifying as two or more races remained relatively stable, decreasing only slightly by 0.51%. The American Indian and Alaskan Native category saw a decrease of 13.21% over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
White	87.09%	85.48%	-1.85%
Black	8.93%	8.69%	-2.69%
Hispanic	1.06%	2.5%	135.85%
Two or More Races	1.97%	1.96%	-0.51%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.43%	0.91%	111.63%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.53%	0.46%	-13.21%