Kilmarnock facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kilmarnock Scottish Gaelic: Cille Mheàrnaig Scots: Kilmaurnock
Administrative centre, town and former burgh
Skyline of Kilmarnock Laigh Kirk Johnnie Walker Bond The Halo Burns Monument Centre Coat of Arms of the Burgh of Kilmarnock
Coat of Arms
Kilmarnock
Area	27.3 km2 (10.5 sq mi)
Population	46,970 (2020)
• Density	1,721/km2 (4,460/sq mi)
OS grid reference	NS429381
• Edinburgh	56 mi (90 km)
• London	335 mi (539 km)
Council area	East Ayrshire
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KILMARNOCK
Postcode district	KA1-KA3
Dialling code	01563
Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Scottish Labour – Lillian Jones)
Scottish Parliament	Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley (SNP – Willie Coffey)
Website	East Ayrshire Council
List of places UK Scotland 55°36′40″N 4°29′45″W / 55.61106°N 4.49571°W / 55.61106; -4.49571

Kilmarnock (/kɪlˈmɑːrnək/ kil-MAR-nək; Scots: Kilmaurnock; Scottish Gaelic: Cill Mheàrnaig, IPA: [kʲʰiːʎ ˈvaːɾnəkʲ]) is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main commercial and industrial centre.

The town grew considerably during the 1870s and the town's growth subsumed the village of Bonnyton, and by the 1960s, new purpose built suburbs such as New Farm Loch were constructed to accommodate the increasing population of Kilmarnock. By mid–2020, the population of the town was estimated to be 46,970, making Kilmarnock the 14th most populated settlement in Scotland as well as the largest town in Ayrshire by population.

The first passenger conveying railway in Scotland originated in Kilmarnock in 1812 as a horse-drawn 4 ft-gauge plateway and became known as the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway. The first printed collection of works by Scottish poet Robert Burns was published in 1786 in Kilmarnock. Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, was published by John Wilson, and became known as the Kilmarnock Edition. The internationally best–selling whisky Johnnie Walker was established in the town in the 19th century and was produced and bottled at the Hill Street plant until closure in 2012, following an announcement by owners Diageo in 2009 that the plant would close as part of company restructuring.

Etymology

The name Kilmarnock comes from the Gaelic cill (cell), and the name of Saint Marnock or Mernoc who is also remembered in the name of Portmarnock in Ireland and Inchmarnock. It may come from the three Gaelic elements mo, 'my', Ernán (name of the saint) and the diminutive ag, giving Church of My Little Ernán. According to tradition, the saint founded a church there in the 7th century. The name Kilmarnock literally means "Marnock's Church". There are 12 Church of Scotland congregations in the town, plus other denominations. In 2005, the Reverend David W. Lacy, minister of the town's Henderson Church, was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

History

Kilmarnock Cross in 1849.

The name Kilmarnock comes from the Gaelic cill (cell), and the name of Saint Marnoch or Mernoc who is also remembered in the name of Portmarnock in Ireland and Inchmarnock. It may come from the three Gaelic elements mo, 'my', Ernán (name of the saint) and the diminutive ag, giving Church of My Little Ernán. According to tradition, the saint founded a church there in the 7th century. There are 12 Church of Scotland congregations in the town, plus other denominations. In 2005, the Reverend David W. Lacy, minister of the town's Henderson Church, was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

The core of the early town appears to have lain around what is now the Laigh Kirk, Kilmarnock (Low Church), although the oldest parts of the current building are no earlier than the 17th century, extending north and northwest. In 1668 the town was largely destroyed by an accidental fire. About 120 families lost most of their possessions and were forced to live destitute in the fields surrounding the town. These tradespeople had no other way of making a living and had already been driven to the edge of poverty by having troops stationed with them as part of the anti-Covenanter measures. Parish churches throughout Scotland collected money for the relief of these homeless citizens.

A comparatively modest settlement until the Industrial Revolution, Kilmarnock extended considerably from around 1800 onwards, requiring the opening of King Street, Portland Street, and Wellington Street. Added later was John Finnie Street, which is regarded as "one of the finest Victorian planned streets in Scotland." The Sandbed Street Bridge is the oldest known surviving bridge in the area.

Governance

Lillian Jones, MP since 2024

Willie Coffey, MSP since 2007

Kilmarnock, as part of the Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency, had long been considered a "safe seat" for the Scottish Labour Party, having been represented by a Labour MP since the establishment of the constituency in 1983. However, at the 2015 general election, the seat changed hands from Labour to the Scottish National Party with the election of Alan Brown, at an election which resulted in a landslide victory for the SNP at the expense of Scottish Labour. Brown defeated Labour candidate Cathy Jamieson with an overwhelming majority with Brown receiving 30,000 votes with Jamieson only receiving 16,363. At the 2024 election, Scottish Labour regained the seat from the SNP, the first time they have gained the seat from the SNP since 2015, when Scottish Labour candidate Lillian Jones won the election with 19,055 votes with a majority of 5,119.

The member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Kilmarnock is Willie Coffey, having represented the area as the MSP of the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency since 2007.

Following the 2017 East Ayrshire Council election, the SNP formed a minority government for East Ayrshire, following the result of a hung council. At present, the Scottish Labour party is the opposition in the East Ayrshire parliament with their leader, Maureen McKay alongside the Scottish Conservative Party, independent councillors and one councillor elected from local campaign group party, The Rubbish Party.

Kilmarnock is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council, with the council headquarters and debating chamber situated on the London Road. In local council elections, Kilmarnock comprises four wards: Kilmarnock North, Kilmarnock East and Hurlford, Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse, and Kilmarnock South. The current leader of East Ayrshire Council is Councillor Douglas Reid of the SNP, who has been leader since 2007. The chief executive is Eddie Fraser, who has been Chief Executive since 2020.

Demography

Dundonald Road, Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock is both the largest town in East Ayrshire and its administrative centre, and the largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town had an estimated population of 46,970 residents in 2020, making it the 14th largest settlement in Scotland.

At Scotland's 2011 census, Kilmarnock had a recorded population of 46,159 inhabitants. The census data highlighted that 45,379 were white (with 42,915 identifying as White Scottish), 121 mixed or multiple ethnic groups, 548 Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British, 148 Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British and 204 Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British. Other ethnic groups included Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British and Caribbean or Black: Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British.

At the 2011 census, 12,143 residents were aged over 16 and had no formal qualifications, while 8,983 residents had at least one qualification in Level 1, with 5,185, 4,044 and 7,339 having a qualification Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 (or above) respectively. There were a total of over 20,000 households in Kilmarnock at the time of the 2011 census, ranging from semi–detached, detached, bungalows, flats and maisonette properties.

The 2011 census of Scotland recorded a working population of 34,104 (16–74) in Kilmarnock, with 4,915 recorded part–time employees, 13,504 full–time, 1,978 self–employed, 2,156 un–employed and 1,094 full–time students.

Economy

The HALO Urban Regeneration building on Hill Street

The worlds best selling scotch whisky, Johnnie Walker, was established in the town in 1820, and was produced and bottled at Hill Street until closure of the plant in 2012

Brodie Engineering railway engineering company, specializing in heavy maintenance, refurbishment and overhauls for both passenger and freight trains

WebHelp offices in Kilmarnock, an example of the towns shift towards office and skill–based economic reliance

The economy of Kilmarnock had historically been centred around heavy manufacturing and goods based services. However, in recent years, and in trend with other towns and cities across Scotland, Kilmarnock's economic dependence has shifted from manufacturing and instead become more reliant on skills-based knowledge. Companies such as Vodafone (Webhelp Call Centre) and Teleperformance occupy a large part of the Rowallan Business Park, which is also home to Food Partners, a nationwide sandwich franchise. Nowadays, the economy of Kilmarnock is largely based on public service and office work, with local property redevelopment and regeneration company, The KLIN Group occupies the former Andrew Barclay Sons & Co offices in West Langland Street, Brodie Engineering operate two production factories for locomotives in the town centre and Utopia Computers, one of the UK's fastest growing computer companies also have their headquarters and main site situated in Kilmarnock in High Glencairn Street. Kilmarnock is also home to The HALO Urban Regeneration with a focus on digital learning, inspiration to innovative thinking and providing a conducive environment for spin-out, new-start, scale-ups, digital, manufacturing and cyber businesses. HALO is set to provide £205 million of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the Economy of Scotland. The window and door company, Scotia have their main headquarters in Kilmarnock, as well as a manufacturing and production plant.

The internationally best–selling Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker was established in Kilmarnock in 1820 by John 'Johnnie' Walker. Originally known as Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky, the brand first started trading from the town in the mid-1800s. The whisky was originally produced, blended and bottled at the Johnnie Walker Bond building, known as "The Bond", in the town centre. Operations continued from The Bond until September 1956 when a new, state of the art and sector leading production plant was opened at Hill Street in the town. At the time of opening in 1956, the Hill Street plant was the world's largest bottling plant. In 2009, to much public backlash as well as backlash from the Scottish Government, First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond and local MP and MSP Cathy Jamieson and Willie Coffey, the owner of Johnnie Walker, Diageo, decided to close the bottling plant, originally by the end of 2011, ending the link between the whisky brand and the town. In September 2009, Diageo confirmed the plant in Kilmarnock would close, despite local protests. Production of Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock ceased during March 2012, after 192 years. It is now made at a new Diageo bottling plant in the eastern coast of Scotland in Leven, Fife. Over the years, Kilmarnock has been the home to other well-known companies, Andrew Barclay Sons & Co., and Saxone Shoes. Following the closure of the Hill Street plant, the building was demolished and the site is now home to both the Kilmarnock campus of Ayrshire College and The HALO Urban Regeneration.

Kilmarnock's traditional industries were based around textiles and heavy engineering such as locomotives (Andrew Barclay Sons & Co) from 1837, and valves (Glenfield and Kennedy), which are still in production. Glenfield and Kennedy is now trading as Glenfield Valves and still operates a base from Kilmarnock, and Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. is now trading as Brodie Engineering. Blackwood's (often known as Blackwood Brothers) produced woollen garments and yarns in Kilmarnock for a number of years, and in 1908, Robert Blackwood formed a partnership with Gavin Morton, establishing Blackwood and Morton of Kilmarnock, which better became known as BMK which specialised in the manufacturing of carpets. Blackwood and Morton of Kilmarnock (BMK) ceased production and closed in 2005, following the closure of Stoddard Carpets and at this time, Stoddard Carpets was the oldest carpet manufacturing company still in operation at that time in Scotland. Carpets manufactured in Kilmarnock were internationally known for their quality and intricacy since the late 19th century. Shoe making was a dominating industry during the height of Kilmarnock's industrial strength, with both Clarks and Saxone Shoes producing shoes from warehouses within the town. The Saxone Shoe factory in Kilmarnock was the largest shoe production factory in operation in Scotland with a staff base of 1,000 employees at the plants peak. Saxone Shoes was bought by the British Sears group and became defunct when Sears sold it to Stylo.

Coal was mined within the vicinity of Kilmarnock, with former mines being located within the areas of Grange, Bonnyton and Portland. Quarrying took place at areas such as Dean, Holm and elsewhere, with clay works for bricks and tiles being produced in Gargieston. Clay was also made into sanitary ware at Hillhead, Longpark and Bonnyton, with the produced products being exported extensively from Kilmarnock. Garden produce relied on the establishment and operation of a number of nurseries within Kilmarnock, namely at Westmoor, Holmes, Burnside, New Park and New Pit, despite the towns heavy reliance on heavy industry for economic strength. Kilmarnock had one of the earliest tram railways in the world, running to Troon over the recently restored Laigh Milton viaduct. The Glasgow & South Western Railway set up their works here, producing nearly 400 locomotives by the time it was absorbed by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in 1923. Some work continued, but heavy repairs were sent to St Rollox. Locomotive repairs finished in 1952, and the works closed in 1959. Nevertheless, locomotives are still made by Brodie Engineering, as well as the maintenance of existing diesel and electric multiple units. From 1949 self-propelled combine harvesters were built in Kilmarnock in a large Massey-Harris factory on the outskirts of the town. It later became Massey Ferguson, and closed in 1980. Glenfield and Kennedy still survives, albeit with a fraction of its former workforce, which at its height numbered in the thousands.

Transport

Stagecoach West Scotland No. 3 (Onthank) bus in the town centre

Kilmarnock railway station and its tower, showing the upgraded station clock

Until the 18th century, means of transportation in and around Kilmarnock relied on rough tracks which were narrow, twisting and, at times, impassable, to link the town with neighbouring settlements. The Ayrshire Turnpike Act 1767 was passed which allowed for the rough tracks to be expanded in width and improved by turnpike trusts who additionally held responsibility for the maintenance of roads. Following the 1767 act, numerous new and improved roads were completed in the town, such as roads linking Kilmarnock with Ayr, Irvine, Kilmaurs, Stewarton, Kingswell and Flockbridge. An additional act, the Ayrshire Turnpike Act 1774, named a total of 39 new roads for Ayrshire, and included several roads in and around Kilmarnock to link the town with Symington, Riccarton, Dundonald and Hurlford. Improved roads around the town had a positive effect on trade and business in Kilmarnock. By the start of the 19th century, William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, wanted "the best way" to transport coal between Kilmarnock and the seaside settlement of Troon for onward shipping.

In 1812, the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway opened, the first railway in Scotland, mainly to carry coal from the area to the harbour at Troon, but also had a regular passenger service provided prior to the construction work being complete. In 1904, Kilmarnock built its own tramway system, the Kilmarnock Corporation Tramways. An electric power station was built on the south bank of the River Irvine at Riccarton and overhead power lines and tram lines were laid. With continued upgrading and expansion, the tram network at its peak went from Ayr Road in Riccarton at its southerly point, to Knockinlaw Road in Beansburn in the north. Today the town is served by Kilmarnock railway station, which operates services from the town to all major locations in Scotland connecting with Stranraer for the ferries to the Port of Belfast as well as Larne Harbour in Northern Ireland and as far as Carlisle and Newcastle in England. Despite an expensive upgrade to the railway station clock in 2008, it was announced in December 2022 following a full cabinet meeting of East Ayrshire Council that the station clock was to be removed and landscaped "with immediate affect" due to continuous technical difficulties preventing the clock and its LED lighting from working properly.

The town's "Transport Station" for bus travel opened in 1923, and was among the first custom–built bus stations in Scotland. It remained the town's main bus station until 1974 when it was replaced by a new bus station, which itself has been upgraded extensively through 2021–2024. Kilmarnock has road links to Glasgow through the M77 motorway from Fenwick to its junction with the M8 at the Kingston Bridge. A south side motorway connects this point to the M74 near Calderpark when the latest phase of development is complete, eliminating some of the heavy traffic formerly travelling on the A71 through Hurlford, Galston, Newmilns, Darvel and Strathaven to join the M74 at Stonehouse. Stagecoach Group is the main transport provider in the town; it operates bus services to most major towns in the west of Scotland. Kilmarnock has its own bus station. As an early market town, Kilmarnock lies on the intersection of 3 main roads: the A71 which runs from Edinburgh to Irvine, the A76 from Dumfries, and the A77/M77 from Stranraer to Glasgow.

Kilmarnock has no international airport, however, the town, as well as surrounding settlements in the area, is served by nearby Glasgow Prestwick Airport (14 mi).

Education

Ayrshire College, previously Kilmarnock College, a further education college in the town

Loanhead Primary School was opened in 1905 and is a Category B listed building

Kilmarnock Academy educated two Nobel laureates – Alexander Fleming, discoverer of Penicillin, and John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr

Kilmarnock has ten primary schools, three secondary schools (Kilmarnock Academy, Grange Academy and Saint Josephs' Academy) and thirteen nursery schools. The schools are managed by East Ayrshire Council. Further education in the town is provided by Ayrshire College, previously known as Kilmarnock College and, prior to that, Kilmarnock Technical College.

The town's oldest secondary school Kilmarnock Academy dates back to the 1600s. The school in its present-day serves as a comprehensive school, one of three in Kilmarnock. It can trace its history back to the local burgh school founded in the 1630s and the first school to bear the name was established in 1876. Kilmarnock Academy is one of a small number of schools in the United Kingdom, and was the first school in Scotland, to have educated two Nobel Prize Laureates – Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of Penicillin, and The 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, for his scientific research into nutrition and his work as the first Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Grange Academy in the Bonnyton area of the town, is one of only seven Scottish Football Association (SFA) Performance Schools.

Loanhead Primary School was founded as Loanhead Public School, and was erected between 1903 and 1905 to accommodate primary aged pupils in the eastern part of Kilmarnock. The foundation stone was laid by Andrew Carnegie on 29 August 1903 before opening to pupils in 1905, and the building is a Category B listed building by Historic Environment Scotland At a construction cost of £15,000, Loanhead Public School was to become the seventh primary school built by the Kilmarnock School Board, as before the introduction of the Education (Scotland) Act 1872, pupils were either educated by schools operated by churches, private individuals or parish councils. Loanhead Primary School underwent a multi-mullion pound programme of investment between 2020 and 2021 to modernise the building and include provision for early years education within the town centre area of Kilmarnock.

In the years that followed the establishment of Loanhead Primary School in 1905, due to the towns growth and expansion, new primary schools were opened, including Shortlees Primary School (1951), Mount Carmel Primary School (1965), Annanhill Primary School (1973), St Matthew's Primary School (1973), Gargieston Primary School (1975), Bellfield Primary School and Whattriggs Primary School (2019). Other primary schools to have been established in Kilmarnock since Loanhead include Silverwood Primary School, Onthank Primary School, Hillhead Primary School and Kirkstyle Primary School. Their dates of establishment remain unclear.

Early Childhood Centres

Primary schools

Secondary Schools

• Kilmarnock Academy
• Grange Academy
• Saint Josephs' Academy

Special Schools

• Park School
• Willowbank School

Further education

• Ayrshire College (Kilmarnock Campus)

Culture

Cultural history

Dean Castle, one of Scotland's oldest castles and is a category A-listed building

Kilmarnock boasts a large number of listed buildings. The Dick Institute, opened in April 1901, was severely damaged by fire only eight years after it opened. Some of the museums collections were lost in the fire. It reopened two years after the fire in 1911. The Dick Institute was used as an Auxiliary Hospital in 1917 during World War One. It is now shared by the Arts and Museums Service, and the Libraries, Registration and Information Service. The two Art Galleries and three Museum Galleries house permanent and temporary displays of Fine Art, Contemporary Art and Craft, Local and Industrial History and Natural Sciences. The Lending Library, Audio Library, Junior Library, Reference Library, and Learning Centre are all housed on the ground floor.

The first collection of work by Scottish poet Robert Burns, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect was published in Kilmarnock on 31 July 1786. It was published at the current site of the Burn's Mall, dedicated to his work. This edition is known as the Kilmarnock Edition or Kilmarnock Volume. To commemorate Burns' association with the town, a statue of Burns and John Wilson, publisher of the Kilmarnock Edition, was erected at The Cross in the town centre and was unveiled by Anne, Princess Royal on 27 September 1995. The Burns Monument in the towns Kay Park was opened on 9 August 1879 and contained a museum of artefacts. Designed by Robert Ingram, the monument cost an estimated £2,892 to build and contained a marble statue of Robert Burns which was designed by W. G. Stevenson, as well as a tower which features rooms that could be visited by the public. When closed for renovations, the monument suffered a severe fire on 20 November 2004, with much of the original structure collapsing. The monument was partially reconstructed and re-opened as the Burns Monument Centre.

The ancestors of William Wallace held the Barony of Ricarton, where the suburb of Riccarton is now located, and, according to local tradition, Wallace was born at Ellerslie near Kilmarnock. John Bowring, polyglot and fourth governor of Hong Kong, was Member of Parliament for Kilmarnock in 1835. In the castle of Kilmarnock, Dean Castle, there is an exhibition of armour and weapons, and the Van Raalte collection of musical instruments.

Sports

Rugby Park, home of Kilmarnock F.C.

The town is host to Kilmarnock F.C., a member of the Scottish Premiership and the oldest professional football club in Scotland. The club is one of eight founding members of the Scottish Football Association in 1873. Although not able to send a representative to the meeting which established the association, Kilmarnock F.C. did send a letter of willingness to join, and did so in time to compete in the inaugural Scottish Cup tournament in 1873–74. Their 2–0 defeat against Renton in the first round on 18 October 1873 is thought to have been the first match ever played in the competition.

There are two golf courses in the town, Annanhill Golf Course and Caprington Golf Course, which has both an 18-hole course and a 9-hole course. Annanhill Golf Course is owned and operated by East Ayrshire Council, while Caprington is privately owned by a community group. The local leisure complexes include the Galleon Centre which features a 25-metre swimming pool, baby pool, ice rink, squash courts, sauna, gym, games hall, bar area and bowling green, as well as the Northwest Centre (formerly the Hunter Centre) which contains a community gym and various local medical facilities. The new Ayrshire Athletics Centre was constructed in the Queens Drive area which includes a 400m running track outside of the main building. The athletics arena was used as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games as a pre–games training ground for athletes from across the Commonwealth of Nations.

One of the towns secondary schools, Grange Academy, is a Scottish Football Association (SFA) performance school. Only six other performance schools are established in Scotland – Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow and Motherwell.

In popular culture

Dick Institute, currently used as a library and museum. During World War I, the building was used as a hospital for injured soldiers

In 2010, BBC Scotland filmed residents on the town's Onthank and Longpark area for the TV programme The Scheme which broadcast in 2010 for two episodes so far, out of a planned four. The Scheme caused much controversy within residents of the community, who believed that the BBC only showed the "worst parts", leading to others believing that they were "pretty much the same". ..... The final two episodes of the series were never broadcast due to legal issues.

Scottish singers The Proclaimers titled a song "The Joyful Kilmarnock Blues" on their first album, This Is the Story, released in 1987. The song "The Ballroom Blitz" by the band The Sweet was inspired by an event at the town's Grand Hall music venue, when, in 1973, the band were performing at the venue and were driven off the stage by a barrage of bottles thrown from the crowd. The song went onto achieve worldwide fame and success, reaching the top ten on both the UK Singles Charts and the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, with many still talking about the concept behind the song. In October 2022, the town's Grand Hall played host to the 2022 BBC New Comedy Award.

Twin towns – sister cities

Kilmarnock – as part of East Ayrshire Council – is twinned with five cities and has received awards from the Council of Europe for its work in twinning.

• Alès, France;
• Herstal, Belgium;
• Joué-lès-Tours, France;
• Kulmbach, Germany;
• Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain.

The former Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council is also twinned with Sukhumi, Abkhazia (Russian-occupied Georgia) on the Black Sea coast.

Following a review of links this link is now considered as a friendship link.

Notable people and residents

Portrait of Sir James Shaw, 1st Baronet (1764–1843), Lord Mayor of London and Member of Parliament for London. (artist Mary Martha Pearson)

Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of Penicillin, was born in nearby Darvel and attended Kilmarnock Academy

Below is a list of those who have either been born, lived in or have been associated with the town of Kilmarnock at some point of their life:

Literature and arts

• Gilbert Adair; writer
• Robert Colquhoun; painter, printmaker and theatre set designer
• Steven Cree, actor, best known for his role in Outlander and Outlaw King.
• Fatherson, three piece alternative rock band formed in the town, with the three members having resided in the town and been educated at local schools in Kilmarnock
• Clark Sorley, record producer
• James Prime, member of the band Deacon Blue
• James Buckley who starred as Jay Cartwright in The Inbetweeners resided in Kilmarnock for a period of time with his wife.
• John Kelso Hunter; 19th-century oil painter and author
• Ben and James Johnston, drummer and bassist of Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro
• Chris Kelso; writer, illustrator, editor and journalist
• Kirsty McCabe; weather presenter and meteorologist BBC, ITV, Channel 5 and Sky News
• Malky McCormick; cartoonist
• Iain McDowall; crime writer
• Hugh McIlvanney; sports journalist
• William McIlvanney; writer, born 1936 and known for his series of books Laidlaw
• James McKie, printer and publisher
• Colin Mochrie; comedian
• William and John Sloane; founders of W. & J. Sloane in New York City.
• Mike Ogletree; drummer and percussionist
• Kirsty Wark; TV news journalist and presenter of Newsnight

Medicine and science

• John Boyd Orr; biologist, politician and Nobel Peace Prize-winner
• Alexander Fleming; discoverer of penicillin and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, attended Kilmarnock Academy
• Robert Thomson Leiper, parasitologist and helminthologist

Businesspeople

• Sir Alexander Walker; creator of Johnnie Walker whisky and son of John "Johnnie" Walker
• John "Johnnie" Walker; originator of Johnnie Walker whisky, grocer, and father of Sir Alexander Walker
• Marie Macklin CBE, CEO of The KLIN Group and founder of The HALO Urban Regeneration
• Gareth Kirkwood; former director of operations at British Airways, current CEO of The Nurture Landscapes Group

Politics

• Ian Deans; Scottish-Canadian NDP politician who represented Hamilton
• James Shaw; Lord Mayor of London in 1805.
• Major General Sir Robert Murdoch Smith, engineer, archaeologist and diplomat

Sports

Footballer Billy Gilmour attended the towns Grange Academy

• Joanne Calderwood; flyweight mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
• Margaret McDowall; member of the Scottish swimming team and silver medal winner at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics
• Gordon Smith; former professional footballer and former SFA Chief Executive
• Jim Thomson (born 1940), cricketer
• Patrick James McKay, Karate-World champion
• Billy Gilmour, footballer for Chelsea F.C. and attended Grange Academy in the town

Merchants

• William Cunninghame, 18th century merchant and Tobacco Lord
• Charles Ewart; cavalryman who captured a French regimental eagle at the Battle of Waterloo

Religion

• William Hewitt; Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2009
• David Lacy; Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and a local minister

Military

• Eleanor Kasrils; first woman recruited into the African National Congress military wing

Other notable people from Kilmarnock

• Duncan Millar, recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Robert Reyburn, orchardist, farmer and politician

See also

In Spanish: Kilmarnock para niños