2000
#8,472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,583
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.33
Rare Last name
Kerner
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of candles or a chandler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,800 Americans carry the last name Kerner. That puts it at #9,410 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 90,199 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kerner surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kerner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 90,199
Census rank
#9,410
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,314 bearers of the surname Kerner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9410th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kerner
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Kerner bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kerner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 3,018
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 123
- Two or more races3.2% · 105
- Black or African American1.4% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kerner
Kerner appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,001
+418 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Up 189 places
2020
#9,410
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,314
-687 bearers (-17.2%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 1,127 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,472 | 3,583 | 1.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,283 | 4,001 | 1.36 | +418 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 189 places |
| 2020 | #9,410 | 3,314 | 1.11 | -687 bearers (-17.2%) | Down 1,127 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kerner surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,283 | #9,410 | -13.6% |
| Count | 4,001 | 3,314 | -17.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.36 | 1.11 | -18.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kerner bearers went from 4,001 to 3,314 (-17.2% change). The surname moved down 1,127 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,283 to #9,410.
FAQ
Kerner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kerner?
Name Census estimates that about 3,800 living Americans carry the surname Kerner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 90,199 residents.
How common is Kerner?
Kerner ranks #9,410 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,314 people with the surname Kerner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,800), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kerner.
Has Kerner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kerner went from 4,001 recorded bearers to 3,314. That is a decrease of 687 (-17.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,283 to #9,410.
What does the Census say about the background of Kerner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kerner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (3,018 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kerner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kerner (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kerner mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of candles or a chandler. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kerner (1.11 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Kerner?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Kerner at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.