Kirk

Where Kirk comes 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 meaning fellatio as well as the verb are derived from the shooting of Charlie Kirk, as he was shot in the neck (“fellatio”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Kirk
  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #809 among boys — 6 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1916
    Kirk Douglas born
    American actor
  3. 1962
    Kirk Hammett born
    American guitarist
  4. 1962
    Peak, #138
    2,560 babies named Kirk — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1973
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #188.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Kirk Douglas · American actor, 1916–2020
  • Kirk Hammett · American guitarist, born 1962
  • Kirk Cameron · American actor, born 1970
  • Kirk Kerkorian · American businessman, investor, and philanthropist, 1917–2015
  • Kirk Acevedo · American actor, born 1971

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.