Kerline
A feminine name of Haitian origin meaning "fair maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 96 living Americans carry the first name Kerline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kerline today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kerline births was 1982 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kerline. 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 Kerline. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
96
~ 1 in 3,570,358 Americans
Peak year
1982
15 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1996 SSA rank
#14,642
Tracked since 1978
Census
Kerline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 643 people with the first name Kerline, which placed it at #17,246 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,246
National first-name rank
People counted
643
643 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kerline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kerline is Black at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kerline described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kerline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.7% · 609
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 16
- Two or more races1.4% · 9
- White1.1% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Popularity
Kerline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kerline from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 81 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
Kerline 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 Kerline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kerlines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kerline
The name Kerline traces its origins to the Breton language, spoken in the northwestern region of France known as Brittany. Derived from the Breton words "ker" meaning "dear" and "lin" meaning "flax" or "linen," the name is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kerline can be found in the medieval Breton manuscript "Buhez Sante Barba" (Life of Saint Barbara), which dates back to the 14th century. This text mentions a character named Kerline, suggesting that the name was in use during that period.
In the 16th century, a Breton woman named Kerline Guezennec was noted for her involvement in the local textile industry, reflecting the name's connection to flax and linen. Records from the 17th century show a Kerline Le Goff, who was a renowned herbalist and healer in the town of Quimper.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Kerline Prigent was a notable figure in Breton folklore and storytelling. Born in 1822, she was known for preserving and sharing traditional tales and legends from the region, contributing to the preservation of Breton cultural heritage.
In the world of arts and literature, Kerline Bouvier, a French artist born in 1912, gained recognition for her vibrant paintings depicting rural life and landscapes of Brittany. Her works are celebrated for capturing the essence of the region's traditions and natural beauty.
Another notable figure with the name Kerline was Kerline Lanson, a French resistance fighter during World War II. Born in 1920, she played a crucial role in the French Resistance movement against the Nazi occupation, risking her life to aid Allied efforts and protect her fellow countrymen.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Kerline, which has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries, particularly in the Breton region of France.
People
Kerline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kerline 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
Kerline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kerline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 96 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kerline 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 3,570,358 US residents.
Is Kerline a common name?
We classify Kerline as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 102 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kerline most popular?
The single biggest year for Kerline was 1982, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kerline is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kerline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 643 people with the name Kerline, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,246 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kerline in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kerline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kerline appears almost entirely female. Of the 648 people counted with this name, 99.1% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kerline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kerline is Black at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kerline most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kerline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (609 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Kerline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kerline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kerline 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.
Is Kerline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kerline 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 Kerline 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.
How many people share the name Kerline?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.