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

Kearns, 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 Kearns surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kearns in America

Kearns is the 2394th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kearns surname appeared 15,136 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Kearns.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kearns 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 Kearns

The surname Kearns originates from Ireland and dates back to the early medieval period. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Ciaráin, meaning "descendant of Ciarán." Ciarán was a popular Irish name derived from the word "ciar," meaning "dusky" or "dark-featured."

The earliest known record of the name Kearns appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The annals mention several individuals bearing the name Ó Ciaráin, including Muircheartach Ó Ciaráin, a notable Irish chieftain who lived in the 12th century.

In the 16th century, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, many Irish surnames underwent anglicization. The Gaelic Ó Ciaráin became Kearns, Kearns, and Kerns, among other variations. The name was particularly prevalent in County Mayo and County Sligo in the west of Ireland.

One notable figure with the surname Kearns was Philip Kearns (c. 1619-1695), an Irish Catholic priest who served as the Archbishop of Cashel from 1670 until his death. He played a significant role in preserving the Catholic faith during the Penal Laws in Ireland.

Another historical figure was John Kearns (1809-1886), an Irish-American businessman and politician. He served as the 40th Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, from 1857 to 1858.

Bridget Kearns (1820-1888), an Irish-American immigrant, is known for her involvement in the labor movement and her advocacy for workers' rights. She played a pivotal role in the organization of the 1836 strike by female textile workers in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Sir Jonathan Kearns (1886-1967) was a British civil servant and diplomat who served as the Governor of Malta from 1954 to 1957.

In the United States, the name Kearns is often associated with the mining town of Kearns, Utah, which was founded in 1892 and named after Thomas Kearns (1862-1918), a successful mining engineer and industrialist.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kearns

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

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

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

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