Kirkland Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Kirkland last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Kirkland last name
Meaning of the Kirkland last name: church land. Kirkland is a Scottish and northern English surname for someone who lived on land belonging to a church, from Old Norse kirkja, "church", and land. There are places called Kirkland in Cumbria, Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire, and emigrants took the last name to the Carolinas. Curiously, kirk is still the everyday Scots word for a church.
Arms associated with the Kirkland name
Coats of arms associated with the Kirkland surname follow Scottish heraldry, where each blazon belongs to one bearer.
Get your full Kirkland family history
This is only a glimpse of the Kirkland story. The full Kirkland history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Kirkland coat of arms. Get the full Kirkland report.
Kirkland name FAQ
What does the Kirkland name mean?
Church land.
Where does the Kirkland surname come from?
It originates in Scotland, and is also found in the United States, England and Canada.
Is there a Kirkland coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Kirkland coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: George F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland (New York Public Library, 1946); Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).