A Scottish and English surname, Kirkwood comes from the Old English terms ‘kirk’ and ‘wode’ which refers to a church in the woods. A spelling variation for Kirkwood is Kirkward. In England the northern regions of Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire and Lancashire counties is where most with the Kirkwood name have lived. In Scotland many with the Kirkwood name live in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Dumfriesshire. Within the United States the Kirkwood families are primarily residing in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Texas, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. Famous: James Pugh Kirkwood (the engineer of the New York and Cleveland water works in the mid-1800s), Joseph Henry Kirkwood (professional golfer from Australia), Samuel Jordan Kirkwood (governor of Iowa during the Civil War), Dan Kirkwood (professional footballer from Scotland), James Kirkwood (writer and film actor), Jimmy Kirkwood (professional field hockey player from Ireland), Curt Kirkwood (songwriter and singer) and Daniel Kirkwood (renown astronomer).