Kerby
Of English origin, a variant spelling of the name Kirby meaning "church settlement".
Name Census estimates that about 903 living Americans carry the first name Kerby. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Kerby today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kerby births was 1984 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kerby. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
903
~ 1 in 379,573 Americans
Peak year
1984
32 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,292
Tracked since 1942
Gender
Gender distribution for Kerby
Kerby leans heavily male at 87.8% of total registrations, but 122 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kerby as a male name
- Ranked #11,654 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1961 (27 births)
Kerby as a female name
- Ranked #10,292 in 1997
- 8 female births in 1997
- Peak: 1984 (21 births)
Popularity
Kerby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kerby from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 202 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kerby by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kerby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kerbys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kerby
The given name Kerby originates from the Old English language, derived from the words "cyr" meaning "church" and "by" meaning "town" or "village." It was primarily used in the Anglo-Saxon regions of England during the medieval period, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
The name Kerby was originally a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near or came from a village or town with a church. It was common practice during the Middle Ages to adopt locational surnames based on landmarks or geographical features. As a given name, Kerby likely emerged as a result of this naming tradition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kerby can be traced back to the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land ownership and taxation in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Chirebi" and "Kyrkeby," reflecting the phonetic variations common in that era.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kerby. One example is Kerby Nahill (1570-1641), an English merchant and explorer who established trade routes in the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East. Another is Kerby Milburn (1688-1753), a British politician and member of the Parliament of Great Britain.
In the realm of literature, Kerby Chadwick (1825-1892) was a renowned English poet and author, known for his vivid depictions of rural life and nature. Chadwick's works, such as "The Pastoral Idylls," were widely acclaimed during the Victorian era.
Moving into the 20th century, Kerby Jennings (1909-1979) was an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader who played a significant role in the development of the swing music genre. He collaborated with notable musicians like Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.
Lastly, Kerby Rosanes (1942-2018) was a Filipino painter and sculptor recognized for his contributions to the country's modern art scene. His works often explored themes of social commentary and cultural identity.
While the name Kerby has its origins in Old English, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and regions over the centuries, making it a name with a rich and diverse history.
People
Kerby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kerby as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kerby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kerby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 903 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kerby going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 379,573 US residents.
Is Kerby a common name?
We classify Kerby as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,001 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kerby most popular?
The single biggest year for Kerby was 1984, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kerby is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kerby a male name?
Yes, 87.8% of people registered as Kerby in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.