# Kern (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/kern/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 28,547 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,237 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 10,815 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.3% (27,634 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /kɝn/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Keirn |

## Etymology

The unincorporated community in Missouri is named after Robert Kern. The Kern River is named after Edward Kern.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Kern in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 93% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Kern in the United States, Austria, the Russian Empire and Hungary.

## People named Kern

- Christian Kern, Austrian politician and businessman
- Jerome Kern, American composer of musical theater and popular music (1885-1945)
- Peter Kern, Austrian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer (1949-2015)
- Anna Kern, 19th-century Russian socialite and memoirist
- Kevin Kern, American musician
- John W. Kern, American politician (1849–1917)
- Joey Kern, American actor
- Hal C. Kern, American film editor (1894–1985)
- Jakob Franz Alexander Kern, Austrian priest (1897–1924)
- Patricia Kern Holmgren, American botanist, botanical collector, curator, editor and director of the William and Ly
- Robert J. Kern, American film editor (1885-1972)
- Richard Kern, American filmmaker (born 1954)

and 2 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Kearney, Korn, Karn, Kron, Kerney, Kirn, Krein, Kerin, Kerwin, Krohn, Karim, Karam.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.