Explore the Family Name Kerkman

The meaning of Kerkman

1. Dutch: from Middle Dutch kercman ‘clergyman’, hence an occupational name for someone working in the service of the church or possibly a topographic name for someone living near a church. 2. Americanized form of North German Kerkmann: Low Geman variant of Kirchmann, a cognate of 1 above.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Kerkman has seen a decrease from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Kerkman ranked 44,350 in popularity with 457 individuals carrying the name. By 2010, however, both the rank and count had dropped. The rank slipped to 54,055 and the number of people with the last name Kerkman decreased to 382, representing a drop of 16.41 percent. The proportion per 100k also fell by 23.53 percent over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#44,350	#54,055	-21.88%
Count	457	382	-16.41%
Proportion per 100k	0.17	0.13	-23.53%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kerkman

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that a vast majority of those with the surname Kerkman identify as White, registering a slight decrease from 96.50 percent in 2000 to 95.29 percent in 2010. A significant increase was observed among those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, rising from 1.09 percent in 2000 to 1.83 percent in 2010. The Hispanic community also saw growth, with the percentage going from zero in 2000 to 2.36 percent in 2010. There were no changes reported for those identifying as Black, American Indian and Alaskan Native, or those belonging to two or more races.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.5%	95.29%	-1.25%
Hispanic	0%	2.36%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.09%	1.83%	67.89%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%