Explore the Family Name Cerni

The meaning of Cerni

1. Slovenian (Černi): nickname from an old spelling of črni, the definite form of črn ‘black, dark’ (compare Cerne). 2. Italianized form of Slovenian Černic: nickname derived from an old spelling of črn ‘black, dark’. 3. Croatian (Černi): Croatized spelling of Czech and Slovak Černý, Slovak also Čierny (see Cerny).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Cerni in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Cerni saw a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of this surname slid from 140,756 in 2000 to 144,141 in 2010, marking a decline of 2.4 percent. However, the number of individuals bearing the Cerni surname surprisingly increased by 5.5 percent during the same period, moving from 109 in 2000 to 115 in 2010. The proportion per 100,000 people remained constant at 0.04.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#140,756	#144,141	-2.4%
Count	109	115	5.5%
Proportion per 100k	0.04	0.04	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Cerni

Shifting focus to ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that most bearers of the Cerni surname identified as White in both 2000 and 2010. While there was a slight decrease in the percentage of Whites with this surname (from 94.5% to 93.04%), they still constituted the vast majority. Meanwhile, the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic also dropped, from 5.5% in 2000 to 4.35% in 2010. The percentages for Asian/Pacific Islander, two or more races, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native were zero for both years, indicating that no respondents with the Cerni surname identified within these categories.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.5%	93.04%	-1.54%
Hispanic	5.5%	4.35%	-20.91%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%