Find out how popular the last name Aerni is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Aerni.

Aerni, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Aerni surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Aerni in America

Aerni is the 62359th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Aerni surname appeared 321 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Aerni.

We can also compare 2010 data for Aerni to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Aerni

The surname AERNI is of Swiss-German origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century in the region of present-day Switzerland. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "arnari," meaning "eagle hunter" or "one who hunts eagles."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the AERNI name can be found in a 1542 document from the canton of Bern, where a certain Hans Aerni is mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the AERNI name became more widespread across Switzerland, particularly in the cantons of Bern, Lucerne, and Zurich. Several notable individuals bearing this surname emerged during this period, including Johann Rudolf Aerni (1628-1703), a renowned clockmaker from Lucerne.

In the 19th century, the AERNI name gained further recognition with the birth of Jakob Aerni (1835-1903), a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1891 to 1892. Another prominent figure was Emil Aerni (1865-1933), a Swiss painter known for his landscapes and portraits of rural life.

As Swiss emigration increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the AERNI name found its way to various parts of the world, including North America and South America. One such individual was Ernst Aerni (1891-1976), a Swiss-American architect who designed several notable buildings in California.

Throughout the centuries, the AERNI name has also been associated with various place names in Switzerland, such as the village of Aerni in the canton of Bern, which likely derived its name from the surname itself.

While the AERNI name may not be among the most common Swiss surnames, it has left its mark on the history and culture of Switzerland, with several notable individuals contributing to various fields, including politics, arts, and architecture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Aerni

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Aerni.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Aerni was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Aerni has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Aerni was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Aerni, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!