Meaning and origin
The last name Kidd derives from the Middle English word "kide," meaning a young goat. It was a nickname given to individuals to describe their youthful and playful nature during the Middle Ages. Over time, this nickname evolved into a hereditary surname, with the spelling variations "Kydd" and "Kidd" emerging in Scotland and northern England, respectively. The name has since spread across the English-speaking world, with variations found in different countries but all tracing back to this common etymological root.
Surname origins are rarely settled: one spelling can have several sources, and families often took a name for reasons nobody wrote down. Check it against the sources below before you rely on it.
#1,060
Kidd was the 1,060th most common surname in the 2010 US Census, with 33,186 people, about 11 in every 100,000.
Who carries it
Surnames like Kidd
Names it is linked with, then names with the same origin and a similar standing.
Check the sources
- Forebears: where Kidd is found around the world
- The Internet Surname Database: a second opinion on the origin
- US Census Bureau: the 2010 surname figures used here
For a name you are serious about, compare the dictionaries: Reaney and Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames; Hanks, Dictionary of American Family Names.