Surname Kerny - Meaning and Origin
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Kerny: What does the surname Kerny mean?
Kerny is a surname of Germanic origin, derived from a region in northern Germany near the border with Denmark. The area is called Kernien or Kernia, and the surname was likely derived from this location. In German, the name Kerny can also mean a basketmaker or basket weaver.
The surname Kerny can be found in records as early as the 1400s, and is still common today. It likely spread into other parts of Europe and Britain with the migrations of Germanic people.
Traditionally, Kerny families have been associated with agriculture and trades. The surname is associated with farming, as families of this name often owned farms and land. Additionally, Kerny families have also been involved in the trades such as being basketweavers.
Kerny is still a fairly common surname today, mainly in the United States, Britain, and Germany. It is an interesting example of how names have been tied to different regions of the world over time, and how they have been passed down from generation to generation.
Order DNA origin analysisKerny: Where does the name Kerny come from?
The last name Kerny is most common in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in the countries of Slovakia, Poland, and the Czech Republic. It is a derivative of the Germanic 'Kern', meaning 'kernel' or 'kernel of grain'.
The surname Kerny is also found in Hungary, Romania, and Austria in small numbers. In Germany the name is quite uncommon, and in France it is virtually non-existent.
In the United States, the Kerny surname is much rarer and found primarily amongst descendants of recent European immigrants from the countries mentioned above. By the early 2000s, the 2010 US Census reported that only 547 people bore the Kerny last name in the US. This number is likely to beSince the early 2000s, there hasn't been a significant change in the amount of people throughout the world bearing the Kerny surname.
There are some who have the Kerny surname living in the UK, especially those of Irish or Scottish descent, although again the numbers are quite small.
Given its prominence in Central and Eastern Europe, the Kerny surname is most likely to be found in these countries today.
Variations of the surname Kerny
The surname Kerny is most likely a shortened version of the original name Mac Kerny or MacKerny, which is derived from the Gaelic term "Mac Gille Eanaigh" meaning "son of the follower of Saint John”. Because of its Irish origins, the surname is also commonly spelled as MacKierney, MacKearney, MacKernan or Kearney.
Variations of the surname Kerny include Mac Kerny, MacKearney, MacKernan, Kearney, MacKierney, McKearney, Kearny, Kerney, Kurney, Kerneye, and survive to this day. Often the surname is also altered by anglicization, resulting in such forms as Collier, Conneely, Connolly, Keating, Keenan, etc.
The Kerny family has often been associated with both County Galway and County Mayo, located in Ireland. Its earliest origins are believed to come from the clans of Baker, MacCoskri, MacKierney, O'Connolly and O'Korny, which are all derived from the O'Conor clan.
The current spellings of the surname Kerny vary widely from region to region. In Ireland, it is commonly spelled as MacKearney or MacKernan, while in the United States, the spelling is often Kearny or Kerney. In Scotland, the name is spelled as McKearney, while in England the spelling is often Kerneye.
Famous people with the name Kerny
- Erzsébet Károlyi Kerny, Hungarian aristocrat
- Bryce Kernen, professional golfer
- Ernie Kerenyi, former Major League Baseball player
- Robert Kerny, Czech ice hockey player
- Josef Kerny, Austrian military figure
- Phil Kerny, American former professional basketball player
- Enzo Kery, Swiss Professional Volleyball Player
- Dan Kerny, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the San Francisco 49ers
- Vaclav Kerny, Czechoslovak diplomat
- Leslie Kerny, Canadian actor