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

Kerger, 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 Kerger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kerger in America

Kerger is the 92358th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kerger surname appeared 199 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 Kerger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kerger 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 Kerger

The surname Kerger is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of central Europe during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Kerker," which means "dungeon" or "prison." This suggests that the name may have referred to an occupation or a place name associated with a prison or dungeon.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kerger can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the 13th century. In this document, a person named "Henricus Kerger" is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the city of Leipzig in 1268.

Another notable mention of the name Kerger can be found in the Annales Monasterii S. Petri Salisburgensis, a chronicle of the St. Peter's Monastery in Salzburg, Austria. This chronicle, written in the 15th century, mentions a "Johannes Kerger" who served as a canon of the monastery in the year 1424.

In the 16th century, the name Kerger appears in various town records and church registers across Germany and Austria. For example, a "Hans Kerger" is listed as a resident of the town of Nürnberg in 1532, while a "Margaretha Kerger" is recorded as being married in the parish church of Graz, Austria, in 1587.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Kerger was Johann Kerger (1591-1662), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg. Another prominent figure was Christoph Kerger (1618-1683), a German jurist and statesman who held important positions in the courts of Saxony and Brandenburg.

In the 18th century, the name Kerger was carried to various parts of Europe by migrants and settlers. For instance, a "Matthias Kerger" is recorded as having immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1738, settling in Pennsylvania. Another notable individual from this period was Johann Jakob Kerger (1725-1792), a Swiss mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.

As the centuries progressed, the surname Kerger continued to spread across Europe and beyond, with individuals bearing the name making their mark in various fields. Some examples include Karl Kerger (1846-1923), an Austrian architect known for his work in Vienna, and Max Kerger (1886-1979), a German-American engineer and inventor who held several patents in the field of automotive technology.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kerger

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

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

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

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