Kerk
An English surname transferred from Dutch toponymic surname for someone from a place named after church.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Kerk. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kerk today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kerk births was 1978 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kerk. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kerk. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1978
5 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1988 SSA rank
#7,942
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Kerk: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kerk from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kerk 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 Kerk during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kerk
The name Kerk is derived from the Dutch word "kerk," which means "church." It originated in the Netherlands and surrounding regions where Dutch was spoken, primarily during the medieval period.
Kerk was initially used as a surname for individuals who lived near or worked at a church. Over time, it evolved into a first name, particularly among Dutch Protestants. The earliest recorded instances of Kerk as a first name date back to the 16th century.
In the Netherlands, the name Kerk held religious connotations and was often associated with the Protestant Reformation. During this period, several notable individuals bore the name Kerk, including Kerk Vrelant (1516-1589), a Dutch Reformed theologian and author of religious texts.
As Dutch settlers migrated to other parts of the world, such as North America and South Africa, the name Kerk was carried along with them. In the 17th century, Kerk van Rensselaer (1615-1687) was a Dutch merchant and one of the founders of the Dutch colony of Rensselaerswyck, which later became part of New York.
Another notable bearer of the name Kerk was Kerk Ramsammy (1927-2017), a Guyanese politician and activist who fought for workers' rights and played a significant role in the country's independence movement.
In more recent times, Kerk Pittman (1942-2015) was an American musician and songwriter best known for his work with the country rock band Poco. He co-wrote several of their hit songs, including "Heart of the Night."
Despite its Dutch origins, the name Kerk has also been adopted by individuals from other cultural backgrounds, particularly those with ties to the Netherlands or Dutch heritage. However, its usage remains relatively uncommon compared to other Dutch names.
People
Kerk + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kerk 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
Kerk: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kerk?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kerk 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Kerk a common name?
We classify Kerk as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kerk most popular?
The single biggest year for Kerk was 1978, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kerk is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kerk in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kerk a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kerk 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.
Is Kerk still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kerk in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kerk can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Kerk?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Kerk, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.