The Kerr surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 44,711 people carried this name — #771 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,600 people counted. That is up 5% from 42,758 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kerr surname

As an English and Scottish topographic surname for someone who lived by a patch of wet ground overgrown with brushwood, from Middle English kerr (“brushwood”), possibly related to Irish Gaelic ceàrr (“left-handed”) and/or Old Norse kjarr.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kerr» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the kerr’.

An early record he cites: Henricus del Kerre, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Kerr and Ker.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 446 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 142 births for the Kerr name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 6,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 123
Leinster 12
Connacht 5
Munster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

65 people named Kerr live in Switzerland.

They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 12
Basel-Stadt 11
Geneva 11
Lucerne 9
Valais 9
Bern 4
Basel-Landschaft 3
Thurgau 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 46 people named Kerr live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Misiones.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Misiones 19
City of Buenos Aires 14
Buenos Aires Province 13

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 37 people named Kerr.

Most of them — 27 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 départements, most often Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 27
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 4
Loire-Atlantique 2
Loir-et-Cher 1
Pas-de-Calais 1
Pyrénées-Orientales 1
Paris 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Poland’s population register

23 people named Kerr have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 64 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Lesser Poland 4
Subcarpathian 4
Pomeranian 4
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 3
Masovian 3
Greater Poland 3
Silesian 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

79 people named Kerr are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 59
Finland (2026) 20

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Scotland, 1880s

Kerr was 45 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 222. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “South of the Forth and the Clyde, but most numerous in the Scottish border counties.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 590 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Kerr was recorded 449 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 33rd most common name in those registers. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 746. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Kerr in American newspapers,
1824–1876.

Newspaper page from New-hampshire Statesman carrying the name Kerr
New-hampshire Statesman 1824-10-18
Newspaper page from New Orleans Republican carrying the name Kerr
New Orleans Republican 1876-06-04
Newspaper page from The New Hampshire Gazette carrying the name Kerr
The New Hampshire Gazette 1824-10-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,641 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kerr in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.

246,715 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kerr. The most, 39,945, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 75,119
Queensland 63,207
New South Wales 63,101
South Australia 16,610
Western Australia 15,903
Tasmania 10,005
ACT (Canberra) 2,172
Northern Territory 98

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

Who carried it

People named Kerr,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Kerr
    Robert Kerr 1755–1813 · writer
  • John Kerr
    John Kerr 1778–1823 · politician
  • John Leeds Kerr
    John Leeds Kerr 1780–1844 · lawyer
  • John Kerr
    John Kerr 1782–1842 · politician
  • John Glasgow Kerr
    John Glasgow Kerr 1824–1901 · physician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — John Glasgow Kerr: SydneyKLewis, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 175 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kerr,
in the records of 7 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 States7,781 records

7,781 records of the Kerr name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1,842
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,647
  • Other U.S. records 4,292
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Wesley Sheppard Kerr

    Born 1948; from New York, New York. U.S. Army, medical specialist; killed in action 1969 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Ethel V. Kerr

    Born 1904 in United Kingdom. Enlisted 1942 in the Women's Army Corps at Los Angeles, California; metal worker. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II; died 1972, buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, California.

    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 Bridget Kerr

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Adriatic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 18; servant. From Dublin, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 7,781 records for Kerr in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (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).

Australia6,592 records

6,592 records of the Kerr name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 3,398
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1,247
  • Other Australian records 1,947
  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 William Kerr

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Joseph Somes, sailing from London in 1846. Native of Paisley, Renfrewshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Mary Ann Kerr

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hector, sailing from Woolwich in 1835. Native of Dumfries, Dumfriesshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1836.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. 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 Rebecca Kerr

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hope, sailing from Dublin in 1842. Native of Belfast, Antrim. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1843. Married 1843 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 29.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6,592 records for Kerr in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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).

Canada1,167 records

1,167 records of the Kerr name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 660
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 152
  • Other Canadian records 355
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record William Kerr

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Moravian, landing at Quebec, bound for Mount Forest, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Ross Kerr

    Killed in 1983 at the Prince Mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Minnie Kerr

    Died 1974, aged 79; buried at Transcona Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 1,167 records for Kerr in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom455 records

455 records of the Kerr name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 285
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 114
  • Other British records 56
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record George R. Kerr

    Killed or died by 1920. Named in the Denny and Dunipace roll of honour (1920). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918 (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain); National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record William Kerr

    Born 1897 at Largs; farmer. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Kerr

    Died 1931, aged 60; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 455 records for Kerr in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand208 records

208 records of the Kerr name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 158
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 19
  • Other New Zealand records 31
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Kerr

    Died 1927, aged 87; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ian Robert Kerr

    Died 1962, aged 61; buried at Havelock Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Anne Kerr

    Buried in 1944 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 82.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 208 records for Kerr in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France7 records

7 records of the Kerr name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Pauline Virginia Kerr

    Born 1952 in the United States; died 1992 in Martigues (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Francis Sebastian Kerr

    Born 1931 in Switzerland; died 1994 in Switzerland.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Kerr in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands7 records

7 records of the Kerr name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 4
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Kenneth Kerr

    Married in 1945 in Groningen; "mechanicien".

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Margaret Kerr

    Married in 1717 in Rotterdam; born in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Kerr in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kerr.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kerr is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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