Given name & surname
Kerr
“from the marshland”
Kerr is used as a given name and a surname. One Scottish interpretation is “from the marshland.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Scottish interpretation is “from the marshland.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scottish.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Kerr through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 23
- 23 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1972
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 1972. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 223 as a first name in 2020; 43,118 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kerr’s family of names
Kerr has a related form in Keir. Kerr has a related form in Karr. In English usage, Kerr as a surname has a related form in Carr.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Kerr
- Kerr SmithAmerican actorborn 1972
- Kerr SmithScottish association football playerborn 2004
- Kerr GrantAustralian physicist1878–1967
- Kerr KriisaEstonian basketball player (born 2001)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kerr, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Drummond
“one who lives on the ridge”
>99% boys
Torrence
“from the little hills”
89% boys · 11% girls
Bryon
Bryon is a masculine given name from Irish.
>99% boys
Bean
“one who is lively”
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Donnell
“ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior”
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Kelvin
“a friend of ships; a man of the river”
>99% boys
Tyrone
“from Owen's land”
>99% boys
Daron
“the great one” · “from a small rocky hill”
>99% boys