Kerin
A feminine diminutive of the Irish name Katharine or Katherine.
Name Census estimates that about 1,375 living Americans carry the first name Kerin. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 82.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Kerin today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kerin births was 1958 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kerin. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 249,276 Americans
Peak year
1958
47 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,268
Tracked since 1935
Gender
Gender distribution for Kerin
Kerin leans heavily female at 82.9% of total registrations, but 272 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kerin as a male name
- Ranked #13,268 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1957 (15 births)
Kerin as a female name
- Ranked #17,976 in 2013
- 5 female births in 2013
- Peak: 1981 (43 births)
Popularity
Kerin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kerin from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 373 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kerin 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 Kerin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kerins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Massachusetts, New York, California recorded the most babies named Kerin, while Washington, Pennsylvania, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 68 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kerin
The name Kerin is of Celtic origin, tracing its roots back to ancient Gaelic and Irish cultures. It is derived from the old Irish word "ciar," meaning "dark" or "black." This likely refers to the color of one's hair or complexion.
In early medieval times, the name was primarily found in areas of present-day Ireland and Scotland, where Celtic languages were widely spoken. Variations of the spelling included Kiarán, Ciaran, and Kieran, reflecting the different dialects and regional spellings of the era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kerin can be found in the life of Saint Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, a sixth-century Irish abbot and monastic founder. He is venerated as one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland" and is considered a patron saint of Clonmacnoise, a significant monastic center in medieval Ireland.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Kerin was relatively common among Irish and Scottish families, particularly those with connections to the monastic traditions or the Catholic Church. Notable historical figures with this name include Kerin of Inishmore, an eighth-century Irish monk and scribe, and Kerin O'Byrne, a 14th-century Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Byrne clan.
In the 16th century, the name gained prominence with Kerin Núnain, an Irish nobleman and landowner who played a role in the Gaelic resistance against English colonization in Ulster. Another notable bearer of the name was Kerin O'Mara, a 17th-century Irish soldier and military leader who fought in the Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
Moving into more recent times, Kerin Buckley (1811-1879) was an Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the New York State Assembly in the mid-19th century. Kerin Danaher (1913-1988) was an Irish novelist and short story writer, known for her works exploring the lives of ordinary people in rural Ireland.
While the name Kerin has its roots in Celtic cultures, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through Irish and Scottish emigration. However, its historical significance remains deeply intertwined with the rich cultural heritage of Ireland and Scotland.
People
Kerin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kerin 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
Kerin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kerin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,375 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kerin 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 249,276 US residents.
Is Kerin a common name?
We classify Kerin as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,590 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kerin most popular?
The single biggest year for Kerin was 1958, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kerin is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kerin a female name?
Yes, 82.9% of people registered as Kerin in the SSA data are female. 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.