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

Chern, 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 Chern surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chern in America

Chern is the 42511th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chern surname appeared 510 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 Chern.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chern 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 Chern

The surname CHERN has its origins in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in the areas that are now part of modern-day Russia and Ukraine. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, between the 10th and 15th centuries.

CHERN is thought to be derived from the Slavic word "chern," which means "black" or "dark." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname referring to a person's physical appearance or perhaps their occupation, such as a blacksmith or a charcoal maker.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the CHERN surname can be found in the Veliky Novgorod Chronicles, a collection of medieval Russian annals dating back to the 12th century. These chronicles document the presence of a prominent family with the CHERN surname in the city of Novgorod, which was a major center of trade and cultural exchange during that time.

In the 14th century, a nobleman named Ivan Chern was mentioned in the records of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, indicating the spread of the CHERN surname across the region. It is also noteworthy that the town of Chernigov, located in modern-day Ukraine, shares a similar linguistic root, suggesting a possible connection with the surname's origins.

During the 16th century, a renowned Russian scholar and mathematician, Fyodor Chern (c. 1520-1590), made significant contributions to the development of mathematics and astronomy in Russia. His works were widely studied and influenced subsequent generations of scholars.

Another notable figure with the CHERN surname was Andrei Chern (1718-1793), a Russian architect who designed several notable buildings in St. Petersburg, including the Smolny Cathedral and the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral.

In the 19th century, Mikhail Chern (1829-1898) was a celebrated Russian painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes, which captured the beauty and daily life of the Russian countryside.

It is worth mentioning that the CHERN surname has also been found in other Slavic countries, such as Poland and Ukraine, where it may have undergone slight variations in spelling or pronunciation over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chern

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

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 Chern 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 Chern 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 Chern was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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