The Kerns surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 15,614 people carried this name — #2,333 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 15,113 in 2000.

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In print

Kerns in American newspapers,
1919–1927.

Newspaper page from The Ronan Pioneer carrying the name Kerns
The Ronan Pioneer 1927-05-05
Newspaper page from The Ronan Pioneer carrying the name Kerns
The Ronan Pioneer 1919-10-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 401,803 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kerns in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

860 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kerns. The most, 187, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 422
Queensland 198
Victoria 73
Western Australia 62
South Australia 55
Tasmania 46
ACT (Canberra) 2

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kerns.

Who carried it

People named Kerns,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lloyd Kerns
    Lloyd Kerns 1921–1986 · politician
  • Hiram O. Kerns 1853–1931 · politician
  • John Kerns 1923– · American football player
  • Bob Kerns 1930–1991 · politician
  • Robert Kerns 1932–1989 · opera singer
  • Peggy Kerns 1941–2020 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kerns,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,283 records

1,283 records of the Kerns name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 534
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 298
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 210
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 120
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 40
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 38
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 24
  • Sacramento County historic burials 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Donald Ray Kerns

    Born 1934; from Lowndes, Mississippi. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Raleigh National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joseph P. Kerns

    Born 1922 in Rhode Island. Enlisted 1942 at Providence; checker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1990, buried at Rhode Island Veteran Memorial Cemetery, Exeter, Rhode Island.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Rose Kerns

    Arrived at New York in 1882 aboard the Erin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 25; servant. From Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,283 records for Kerns in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia29 records

29 records of the Kerns name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 13
  • Tasmanian Names Index 8
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Kerns

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Surry, arriving 1823; ticket of leave 1830. Native of London.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Dennis Kerns

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Sultana, aged 28; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Max W. Kerns

    Company manager of N Zealand, Victoria; died 1944.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 29 records for Kerns in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands14 records

14 records of the Kerns name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 9
  • Dutch population registers 3
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Pieter Kerns

    Died 1833 in Hellevoetsluis, aged 29; sailor.

    Open Archives, Streekarchief Voorne-Putten (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Philip Kerns

    Buried in 1757 in Nijmegen.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Nijmegen (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Johanna M. Kerns

    In the population register of Grave; born 1733.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 14 records for Kerns in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Kerns name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Robt A. Kerns

    Died 1922; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record William Kenneth Atkinson Kerns

    Died in service in 1919.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Thomas Kerns

    Listed at Halifax, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1838.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Germany2 records

2 records of the Kerns name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Alois Kerns

    From Rindweiler, Hagenau. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 6 November 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 253).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Willi Kerns

    From Magdeburg. Reported missing in the Imperial Navy casualty list of 24 June 1916; then reported dead in the list of 13 September 1916.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kerns.

When the index is not enough

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