2000
#3,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,691
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.59
Uncommon Last name
Kirchner
Derived from the German word for church, referring to someone who lived near or worked at a church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,694 Americans carry the last name Kirchner. That puts it at #3,703 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,051 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kirchner 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.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 32,051
Census rank
#3,703
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.3K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,326 bearers of the surname Kirchner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3703rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirchner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kirchner
The surname Kirchner is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "kirchenherre," which means "lord of the church" or "church warden." It is believed to have emerged as an occupational name for a person who was responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of a church or served as a church official.
The earliest known record of the name Kirchner dates back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony. During this period, the name was often written as "Kirchherre" or "Kirchherr" before evolving into its modern form, Kirchner.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Kirchner can be found in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a famous illustrated world history book published in 1493. The book mentions a certain "Hans Kirchner" from the town of Erfurt, who was a notable scholar and theologian during the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the Kirchner name gained prominence in the southern German states, particularly in Bavaria and Württemberg. One notable figure was Johann Kirchner (1505-1562), a Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
Another important figure was Johann Georg Kirchner (1637-1700), a German jurist and legal scholar from Saxony. He was widely respected for his work on the reform of criminal law and is considered one of the founders of modern criminal law.
In the 18th century, the name Kirchner was associated with the town of Kirchberg, located in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. The town's name is derived from the German words "Kirche" (church) and "Berg" (mountain), suggesting a connection between the Kirchner surname and this geographical location.
One of the most notable individuals with the surname Kirchner was the German painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), a founding member of the influential avant-garde group Die Brücke (The Bridge). His vibrant, expressionist paintings and woodcuts were instrumental in shaping the modern art movement in the early 20th century.
In the 20th century, the name Kirchner gained global recognition with the rise of Néstor Kirchner (1950-2010), an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. His wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, succeeded him as the President of Argentina from 2007 to 2015.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kirchner
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirchner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kirchner 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 Kirchner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 8,649
- Two or more races2.9% · 274
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 263
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 74
- Black or African American0.5% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kirchner
Kirchner 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
#3,554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,044
+353 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 3.40
Rank movement Down 177 places
2020
#3,703
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,326
-718 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 3.12
Rank movement Down 149 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,377 | 9,691 | 3.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,554 | 10,044 | 3.40 | +353 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 177 places |
| 2020 | #3,703 | 9,326 | 3.12 | -718 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 149 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 Kirchner 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 | #3,554 | #3,703 | -4.2% |
| Count | 10,044 | 9,326 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 3.40 | 3.12 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kirchner bearers went from 10,044 to 9,326 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 149 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,554 to #3,703.
FAQ
Kirchner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kirchner?
Name Census estimates that about 10,694 living Americans carry the surname Kirchner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,051 residents.
How common is Kirchner?
Kirchner ranks #3,703 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,326 people with the surname Kirchner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,694), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Kirchner.
Has Kirchner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kirchner went from 10,044 recorded bearers to 9,326. That is a decrease of 718 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,554 to #3,703.
What does the Census say about the background of Kirchner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirchner, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Kirchner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (8,649 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kirchner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Kirchner (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 Kirchner mean?
Derived from the German word for church, referring to someone who lived near or worked at a church. 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 Kirchner (3.12 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 Americans have the surname Kirchner?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.