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

Kerner, 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 Kerner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kerner in America

Kerner is the 8283rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kerner surname appeared 4,001 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kerner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kerner 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 Kerner

The surname Kerner has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "kern," which means "core" or "kernel." Initially, the name was likely a descriptive nickname given to someone who worked with grain or lived near a granary.

Kerner is believed to have first appeared in various German regions, such as Bavaria and Saxony, as early as the 13th century. The name can be found in several historical records, including church registers and census documents from that era.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kerner name is found in the town of Nürnberg, where a certain Johann Kerner was mentioned in a tax record from 1324. Another notable early example is Heinrich Kerner, a farmer from the village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, whose name appears in a land deed dated 1423.

Throughout the centuries, variations of the spelling emerged, including Kernner, Kherner, and Kehrner. These variations often resulted from regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping during that time.

Several notable historical figures bore the Kerner surname, including:

1. Justinus Kerner (1786-1862), a German poet, physician, and author known for his works on supernatural phenomena.
2. Andreas Kerner (1800-1858), a German botanist and professor at the University of Innsbruck.
3. Charlotte Kerner (1858-1931), a German opera singer and voice teacher.
4. Robert Joseph Kerner (1808-1889), an Austrian jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Justice for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
5. Anton Kerner von Marilaun (1831-1898), an Austrian botanist and professor at the University of Vienna, known for his contributions to the study of plant morphology and ecology.

The name Kerner can also be traced to various place names in Germany, such as Kerns, a town in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Kernershausen, a village in the state of Baden-Württemberg. These places may have influenced the formation of the surname or served as the original locations from which the name spread.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kerner

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

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

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

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