Explore the Family Name Korn
The meaning of Korn
1. German: from Middle High German korn ‘grain’, a metonymic occupational name for a factor or dealer in grain or a nickname for a peasant. 2. Dutch, German, and Czech: from a short form of the personal name Korneli(u)s, Czech Kornel (see Cornelius). 3. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Korn (Yiddish korn) ‘grain’, a metonymic occupational name as in 1 above, or an artificial name. Compare Corn.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Korn in the United States?
According to the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname "Korn" has seen a slight decrease in popularity over the last decade. In 2000, it was ranked as the 5947th most popular surname in the United States. However, by 2010, it had dropped slightly to the 6278th position, marking a change of -5.57%. Despite this slight drop in rank, the number of people with the surname Korn increased from 5328 in 2000 to 5442 in 2010, an increase of 2.14%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,947 | #6,278 | -5.57% |
| Count | 5,328 | 5,442 | 2.14% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.98 | 1.84 | -7.07% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Korn
In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some interesting shifts within the population carrying the "Korn" surname. The majority of individuals with this surname identify as White, though this proportion decreased slightly from 94.82% in 2000 to 91.23% in 2010. There was significant growth in the representation of the Asian/Pacific Islander community among those with the Korn surname, which saw an impressive 124.43% increase from 2000 to 2010. The Hispanic representation also nearly doubled during this period. Other ethnic identities such as Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native saw modest increases over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.82% | 91.23% | -3.79% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.76% | 3.95% | 124.43% |
| Hispanic | 1.35% | 2.63% | 94.81% |
| Two or More Races | 1.11% | 1.12% | 0.9% |
| Black | 0.54% | 0.64% | 18.52% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.41% | 0.42% | 2.44% |
Korn ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Korn is Ashkenazi Jewish, which comprises 30.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (27.4%) and French & German (19.5%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 30.9% |
| British & Irish | 27.4% |
| French & German | 19.5% |
| Other | 22.1% |
Possible origins of the surname Korn
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Korn have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Lancashire, United Kingdom | 56.20% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 56.20% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 56.20% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 55.60% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 55.60% |
What Korn haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Korn is E-M34, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup E-M34 is descended from haplogroup E-M96. Other common haplogroups include I-M170 and R-CTS3402, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Neuman, Malek, Moskowitz, Grande, Glassman, Constantine, Kraft, Berk, Swartz, Nagel.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Korn surname are: H1, J1c, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins E-M96
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Napolean Bonaparte
The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte descended from the common ancestor of haplogroup E-M34. The male line of the Bonaparte family was from Tuscany, where Napoleon's earliest known male ancestors lived for at least six generations. Eleven generations before Napoleon, his ancestor, Giovanni, was the first to leave Tuscany for Corsica. The Bonaparte lineage lived in Corsica for ten generations before Napoleon's father, Charles-Marie Bonaparte. Charles-Marie (born in 1746) married Napoleon's mother, Letizia Ramolino, at the age of 18 in 1764.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Korn have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Korn" Surname 48.8%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Korn" Surname 29.8%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Korn" Surname 20.8%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Korn" Surname 17.6%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Korn?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Korn are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition