Explore the Family Name Kearn

The meaning of Kearn

Irish: 1. variant of Kearns. 2. possibly also a variant of McCarron.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Kearn has seen a slight drop in popularity over a decade. In 2000, it was ranked 47,838 in terms of popularity, and by the year 2010, it had slipped to 48,800, marking a decrease of 2.01%. Despite the drop in ranking, the actual count of people with the Kearn surname increased from 416 in 2000 to 432 in 2010 indicating a growth rate of 3.85%. The proportion per 100k people remained constant at 0.15 across both years.

20002010Change
Rank#47,838#48,800-2.01%
Count4164323.85%
Proportion per 100k0.150.150%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kearn

Regarding ethnicity, the Kearn surname has been predominantly associated with the white ethnic identity - as shown by the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, about 95.19% of bearers of the surname identified as white, which decreased slightly to 89.35% by 2010. Over the same period, the percentage of individuals with the Kearn surname who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander nearly doubled from 1.44% to 2.78%. In addition, the representation of Kearns identifying as Black also saw a significant increase from 1.68% in 2000 to 3.01% in 2010. While there were no Kearns identifying as either Hispanic or American Indian and Alaskan Native in 2000, by 2010, there was a 2.31% representation of Hispanics. The count for those identifying as two or more races remained at zero throughout.

20002010Change
White95.19%89.35%-6.14%
Black1.68%3.01%79.17%
Asian/Pacific Islander1.44%2.78%93.06%
Hispanic0%2.31%0%
Two or More Races0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%