2000
#19,890
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,250
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.46
Rare Last name
Kerney
A surname derived from the Irish name Ó Cearnaigh, meaning "descendent of Cearnaigh".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,299 Americans carry the last name Kerney. That puts it at #23,166 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 263,860 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kerney surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kerney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.3K
1 in 263,860
Census rank
#23,166
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,133 bearers of the surname Kerney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23166th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerney, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kerney
The surname Kerney is of Irish origin, tracing its roots back to the ancient Gaelic kingdom of Dalriada in the late 11th century. This Celtic name is derived from the Gaelic word "cairnach," which means "an abounding in cairns or monumental stones." The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked with such stone structures.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Cearnaigh" or "Cairnach" before evolving into more modern variations like Kerney, Kearney, Carney, and Carnie. The surname was first recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Kerney appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The record mentions a landowner named "Cairnacus" in Oxfordshire, likely a Norman with Irish roots.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Kerney surname gained prominence in County Sligo, Ireland, where the family held lands and wielded significant influence. Notable figures from this period include Donnchadh Cairnach Ó Dobhailen (1170-1242), a renowned Irish poet and hereditary Chief Ollam of Leinster.
In the 16th century, Edmond Kerney (1516-1569) was a prominent Irish landowner and military leader who fought against English forces during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. His son, Sir Nicholas Kerney (1548-1599), was knighted for his service to Queen Elizabeth I.
Other historical figures bearing the Kerney name include Francis Kerney (1641-1711), an Irish Jacobite soldier who fought for King James II in the Williamite War, and John Kearney (1784-1846), an Irish-American Catholic priest and founder of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.
Throughout history, the surname Kerney has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Kearney's Quarter in County Louth and Kearney's Cross in County Sligo. These locations likely derived their names from prominent Kerney families who resided or held lands in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kerney
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerney, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Kerney bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kerney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.0% · 702
- Black or African American29.2% · 331
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 46
- Two or more races3.2% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kerney
Kerney appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#17,472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,613
+363 bearers (+29.0%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Up 2,418 places
2020
#23,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,133
-480 bearers (-29.8%)
Per 100,000 0.38
Rank movement Down 5,694 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,890 | 1,250 | 0.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,472 | 1,613 | 0.55 | +363 bearers (+29.0%) | Up 2,418 places |
| 2020 | #23,166 | 1,133 | 0.38 | -480 bearers (-29.8%) | Down 5,694 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kerney surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #17,472 | #23,166 | -32.6% |
| Count | 1,613 | 1,133 | -29.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.55 | 0.38 | -31.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kerney bearers went from 1,613 to 1,133 (-29.8% change). The surname moved down 5,694 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,472 to #23,166.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kerney
FAQ
Kerney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kerney?
Name Census estimates that about 1,299 living Americans carry the surname Kerney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 263,860 residents.
How common is Kerney?
Kerney ranks #23,166 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,133 people with the surname Kerney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,299), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Kerney.
Has Kerney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kerney went from 1,613 recorded bearers to 1,133. That is a decrease of 480 (-29.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,472 to #23,166.
What does the Census say about the background of Kerney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kerney, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Hispanic (4.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kerney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.0% (702 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kerney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.0%), Black (29.2%), Hispanic (4.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kerney (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kerney mean?
A surname derived from the Irish name Ó Cearnaigh, meaning "descendent of Cearnaigh". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kerney (0.38 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Kerney?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.