Kincaid

Scottish surname

"steep place; of the head of the rock; of the head of the battle"

Kincaid Origin and Meaning

The name Kincaid is a boy's name meaning "steep place; of the head of the rock; of the head of the battle".

Kincaid originated as a Scottish Clan name — the Kincaids descended from the Earl of Lennox in the 13th century and were supposedly named after the territory they resided on. The name Kincaid may derive from the Scottish-Gaelic ceann-cadha, meaning "steep pass" or "head of the rock." Another theory conjectures that Kincaid came from ceann-catha, meaning "at the head of the battle."

Kincaid is most commonly seen as a surname but has been used as a given name among American boys since 1993. A notable bearer of the surname is Antiguan-American writer Jamaica Kincaid, born Elaine Potter Richardson.