The surname Kirk
A place surname, carried by 54,394 people in the United States.
Pronounced /kɜɹk/ 1 syllable Soundex K620 Also a first name
Origin
From kirk, from Northern Middle English kirke, borrowed from Old Norse kirkja, borrowed from Old English ċiriċe, from Proto-West Germanic *kirikā, borrowed from Koine Greek κῡρῐᾰκόν (kūrĭăkón), a nominalization of κῡριακός (kūriakós), or from Ancient Greek -ον (-on). Doublet of Church. The sense meaning fellatio as well as the verb are derived from the shooting of Charlie Kirk, as he was shot in the neck (“fellatio”).
Kirk is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 54,394 people named Kirk in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,676 Americans. That is up 4.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 52,056.
Who is named Kirk
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
82% of people named Kirk identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- White (not Hispanic) 82%
- Black (not Hispanic) 11%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
- Two or more races 2.1%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 1.3%
Famous Kirks
25 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Charlie KirkAmerican political activist (1993–2025)
- Justin KirkAmerican actor, born 1969
- Russell KirkAmerican political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and writ, 1918–1994
- Erika KirkAmerican businesswoman and podcaster (born 1988)
- Mark KirkAmerican politician (born 1959)
- Oliver KirkAmerican boxer (1884–1960)
- Rahsaan Roland KirkAmerican musician (1935-1977)
- Tommy KirkAmerican actor (1941–2021)
- Paul Grattan Kirk Jr.American politician, born 1938
- Andy KirkAmerican jazz saxophonist and tubist, bandleader (1898-1992)
- Ron KirkAmerican politician, born 1954
- Claude R. Kirk36th Governor of Florida (1926–2011)
Notable Kirks come mostly from the United States (23), Brazil (1) and the United Kingdom (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Questions
- Where does the surname Kirk come from?
- From kirk, from Northern Middle English kirke, borrowed from Old Norse kirkja, borrowed from Old English ċiriċe, from Proto-West Germanic *kirikā, borrowed from Koine Greek κῡρῐᾰκόν (kūrĭăkón), a nominalization of κῡριακός (kūriakós), or from Ancient Greek -ον (-on). Doublet of Church. The sense…
- How common is the surname Kirk?
- 54,394 people in the United States had the surname Kirk in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,676 Americans. It ranked 623rd of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Kirk?
- In the 2010 Census, 82% of people named Kirk identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as Black (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Kirk?
- Charlie Kirk, American political activist (1993–2025), followed by Justin Kirk.
- Where is the surname Kirk most common?
- Wikidata records people named Kirk in the United States, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
- How do you pronounce Kirk?
- Kirk is /kɜɹk/, one syllable.
- What type of surname is Kirk?
- Kirk is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
- Is the surname Kirk getting more or less common?
- More common. 52,056 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 54,394 in 2010, up 4.5%.
- What are other spellings of Kirk?
- Kirke.
- Is Kirk also a first name?
- Yes. Kirk is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.