2000
#2,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.60
Uncommon Last name
Kerns
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ciaráin, meaning "descendant of Ciarán," a personal name derived from ciar, meaning "black."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,544 Americans carry the last name Kerns. That puts it at #2,444 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,718 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kerns 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 Kerns with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 20,718
Census rank
#2,444
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,427 bearers of the surname Kerns in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2444th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerns, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kerns
The surname Kerns is of English origin, derived from the Old English word 'cyrnel', meaning a small grain or kernel. It was likely an occupational surname given to someone who worked with grains or was a miller.
The earliest known record of the Kerns surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Cyrnell' in Lincolnshire. This suggests that the name was already well-established in parts of England by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded as 'Kernel' in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire. The spelling variations during this period also included 'Kernell', 'Kernelle', and 'Karnell'.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Kerns surname was John Kernes, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. Another early record is of William Kernes, mentioned in the Friary Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379.
The surname Kerns is also linked to several place names in England, such as Kernes Farm in Herefordshire and Kernes Bank in Gloucestershire. These place names likely derived from the same Old English root word as the surname.
Notable individuals with the surname Kerns throughout history include:
1. Sir Thomas Kernes (c. 1520 - 1594), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
2. John Kerns (1648 - 1725), an English Quaker leader and writer who was imprisoned several times for his religious beliefs.
3. William Kerns (1721 - 1805), an American Revolutionary War soldier and one of the earliest settlers in what is now West Virginia.
4. Katharine Kerns (1888 - 1972), an American writer and journalist known for her novels set in the American West.
5. Michael Kerns (1942 - 2015), an American actor and playwright who co-founded the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kerns
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerns, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Kerns 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 Kerns surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 12,689
- Black or African American3.7% · 538
- Two or more races3.7% · 538
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 428
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 121
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 113
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kerns
Kerns 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
#2,333
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,614
+501 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 5.29
Rank movement Down 127 places
2020
#2,444
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,427
-1,187 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 4.83
Rank movement Down 111 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,206 | 15,113 | 5.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,333 | 15,614 | 5.29 | +501 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 127 places |
| 2020 | #2,444 | 14,427 | 4.83 | -1,187 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 111 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 Kerns 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 | #2,333 | #2,444 | -4.8% |
| Count | 15,614 | 14,427 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 5.29 | 4.83 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kerns bearers went from 15,614 to 14,427 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 111 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,333 to #2,444.
FAQ
Kerns surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kerns?
Name Census estimates that about 16,544 living Americans carry the surname Kerns. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,718 residents.
How common is Kerns?
Kerns ranks #2,444 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,427 people with the surname Kerns. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,544), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Kerns.
Has Kerns become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kerns went from 15,614 recorded bearers to 14,427. That is a decrease of 1,187 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,333 to #2,444.
What does the Census say about the background of Kerns?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerns, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Kerns in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (12,689 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kerns appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Black (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Kerns (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 Kerns mean?
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ciaráin, meaning "descendant of Ciarán," a personal name derived from ciar, meaning "black." 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 Kerns (4.83 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 Kerns?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Kerns at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.