Kirk
From a northern English and Scottish surname meaning church, from the Old Norse kirkja. It was given to someone who lived beside one.
Kirk in 2025
Kirk was given to 52 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 5,508th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 63,757 babies born.
The history of Kirk
Kirk reached its highest point in 1962, when 2,560 babies were given the name, ranking 298th that year.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 68,264 babies have been named Kirk. Half of them were born before 1965, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Kirk by decade
| Decade | Babies named Kirk | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 40 | 1,208 |
| 1890s | 48 | 1,452 |
| 1900s | 68 | 1,631 |
| 1910s | 284 | 1,980 |
| 1920s | 387 | 2,027 |
| 1930s | 584 | 1,185 |
| 1940s | 2,755 | 526 |
| 1950s | 16,252 | 312 |
| 1960s | 22,275 | 298 |
| 1970s | 11,687 | 330 |
| 1980s | 7,231 | 580 |
| 1990s | 3,966 | 726 |
| 2000s | 1,418 | 1,911 |
| 2010s | 924 | 3,252 |
| 2020s | 345 | 4,529 |
Where Kirk is heading
Kirk has fallen 43% over the past decade, from 92 babies in 2015 to 52 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1962 peak — Kirk is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Kirk
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Kirk.