2000
#24,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 946
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.35
Rare Last name
Kervin
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Cerbháin, meaning "descendant of Cerbhán".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,076 Americans carry the last name Kervin. That puts it at #27,242 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 318,545 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kervin 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 Kervin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.1K
1 in 318,545
Census rank
#27,242
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
938
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 938 bearers of the surname Kervin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 27242nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kervin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Black (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kervin
The surname Kervin has its origins in the Brittany region of northwestern France, dating back to the early medieval period around the 9th century. It is believed to be derived from the Breton words "ker," meaning "home" or "settlement," and "vin," meaning "white" or "fair," potentially referring to a fair-haired person or someone from a settlement with light-colored buildings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kervin can be found in the Cartulaire de Redon, a medieval cartulary from the Abbey of Redon in Brittany, which dates back to the 9th century. The name appears as "Kervinius," indicating its Breton origins.
In the 12th century, the name Kervin was mentioned in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry records a landowner named Aluredus Kervin in the county of Gloucestershire.
During the 13th century, there are records of a knight named Sir Robert Kervin, who fought in the Crusades and was awarded lands in Normandy for his service. His descendants continued to use the surname in Normandy and surrounding regions.
In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Kervin was Jean Kervin, a French playwright and poet born in Brittany around 1420. His works were influential in the development of French Renaissance literature.
Another prominent individual with the surname Kervin was Sir Thomas Kervin, a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the 17th century. He was born in 1635 in Cornwall and played a significant role in several naval battles against the Dutch and French fleets.
Throughout history, variations of the name have included Kervyn, Kerven, and Kerven-Lecart, reflecting regional differences in spelling and pronunciation. Place names like Kervyn-Nalinnes in Belgium and Kervin-Marquion in France may have influenced the surname's evolution.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kervin
Among Census respondents with the surname Kervin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Black (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kervin 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 Kervin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 839
- Two or more races3.5% · 33
- Black or African American3.0% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kervin
Kervin 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
#26,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 913
-33 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 1,947 places
2020
#27,242
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 938
+25 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 571 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #24,724 | 946 | 0.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #26,671 | 913 | 0.31 | -33 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 1,947 places |
| 2020 | #27,242 | 938 | 0.31 | +25 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 571 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 Kervin 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 | #26,671 | #27,242 | -2.1% |
| Count | 913 | 938 | 2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.31 | 0.31 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kervin bearers went from 913 to 938 (+2.7% change). The surname moved down 571 positions in the national ranking, going from #26,671 to #27,242.
FAQ
Kervin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kervin?
Name Census estimates that about 1,076 living Americans carry the surname Kervin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 318,545 residents.
How common is Kervin?
Kervin ranks #27,242 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.31 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 938 people with the surname Kervin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,076), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.31 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 Kervin.
Has Kervin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kervin went from 913 recorded bearers to 938. That is an increase of 25 (+2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #26,671 to #27,242.
What does the Census say about the background of Kervin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kervin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Black (3.0%). 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 Kervin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (839 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kervin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Black (3.0%). 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 Kervin (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 Kervin mean?
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Cerbháin, meaning "descendant of Cerbhán". 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 Kervin (0.31 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 are called Kervin?
Want to know how many people have the last name Kervin? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.