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

Kirn, 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 Kirn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kirn in America

Kirn is the 20468th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kirn surname appeared 1,297 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 Kirn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kirn 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 Kirn

The surname KIRN originates from Germany, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Middle High German word "kirn," which translates to "churn" or "a small vessel used for churning." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked as a churner or in a related profession.

The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, where many early bearers of the KIRN surname were found. Some of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in various medieval documents, such as land records and tax rolls from these regions.

In the 15th century, a notable mention of the KIRN surname appears in the Nuremberg Chronicle, a well-known illustrated world history book published in 1493. The book contains an entry for a person named Hans Kirn, though no further details about their life or significance are provided.

One of the earliest known individuals with the KIRN surname was Johannes Kirn, a German theologian and author who lived from 1550 to 1629. He was a prominent figure in the Lutheran Church and wrote several influential works on theology and religious philosophy.

Another notable figure was Philipp Kirn, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived from 1619 to 1690. He served as a professor of law at the University of Heidelberg and published several treatises on legal theory and practice.

In the realm of literature, the KIRN surname is associated with Wilhelm Kirn, a German novelist and dramatist who lived from 1857 to 1922. He is best known for his novels exploring social and political themes in late 19th-century Germany.

The name KIRN has also been linked to various place names throughout Germany, including the town of Kirn in Rhineland-Palatinate, which likely derived its name from the same linguistic root as the surname.

Throughout history, the KIRN surname has been spelled in various ways, such as Kirne, Kirnne, and Kyrn, reflecting regional variations and linguistic changes over time. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, tracing back to its roots as an occupational surname in medieval Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kirn

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

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

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

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