Kirk

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

The name Kirk has Scottish and English etymological origins likely influenced by the Norse who infiltrated those areas. Kirk is one of the many surnames that later became used as a first name. This occurred with many such surnames as they became increasingly threatened by marriages and decreased use especially in the maternal lines of families. As women took their husband’s family names over generations, their family names (surnames) went unused and were pushed further back into the family histories and records. Using a surname as a first or middle name helped to retain it in use. Kirk is likely one of the place names that became affiliated with certain family lines and became a descriptor of those family lines. Specifically, it refers to someone who lived near a church (Old Norse: kirkja).^{[1] [1]}

POPULARITY

According to the Social Security Administration, Kirk has not been one of the 1000 most popular names in the United States since 2002. In that year, Kirk ranked 975th. Kirk was similarly unpopular 100 years ago when, with the exception of the years 1910 and 1909 when it ranked 905th and 872nd respectively, it failed to make to top 1000 list steadily until 1934. Then, it ranked 800th and climbed steadily throughout the 1940s through the 1960s when it reached its zenith in popularity in 1963 as the 138th most popular name in the country. Still hovering in the respectable 300 range of most popular names, Kirk started sliding precipitously downward by the 1990s. From 1990, when it ranked 347th to the year 2000, when it ranked 849th, Kirk dropped 500 spaces in the list of most popular names. Further aggressive decline took place and by 2003, Kirk had vanished from the list.

FACTS

Captain James T. Kirk (surname) is the name of the character played by American television and motion picture actor William Shatner on the television series Star Trek. Although the series only lasted several years (1966 - 1969), it had a remarkable impact on science fiction and science fiction television ever since. Initially developed by Gene Roddenberry, it has since spawned into a number of other series, movies, merchandise, clubs and fan clubs.^[1]

NAMESAKES

• Kirk is the name of a city in Colorado

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Kirk Douglas (b. 1916 as Issur Danielovich Demsky) is an American motion picture actor and father of motion picture actor Michael Douglas.
• Congressman Mark Kirk represents the 10th Congressional District of Illinois located in the suburbs north of Chicago.
• Kirk Hammett is the lead guitarist for the band Metallica.

Author: Mike Szimanski

NOTES