Kiernan Surname

29,781st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 17,967 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Norfolk Island

Kiernan Surname Definition:

(Celtic) 1 a contraction of the Irish Mac Thighearnain (th mute), Son of Tighearnan = Little Lord [Irish tighearna, lord, master + the diminutive suff. -á)n] 2 of Dark Complexion [Irish Ciarnan—ciar, dark + the diminutive suff. -nán] 3 for the Irish O'Cearnachain (usually Anglicized Kerna(g)han), Descendant of Little Cearnach = Victorious [Irish cearnach + the diminutive suff.

Read More About This Surname

Kiernan Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States9,0121:40,2204,948
Ireland3,7281:1,263253
England2,5091:22,2073,105
Australia9431:28,6273,883
Canada4211:87,5199,686
Scotland4211:12,7171,688
Argentina2241:190,81915,892
New Zealand1851:24,4774,275
Wales921:33,6363,370
Northern Ireland771:23,9622,720
Spain601:779,20132,544
Iceland331:11,5181,065
Thailand281:2,522,798271,580
Germany271:2,981,684140,707
France211:3,162,987209,042
Norfolk Island161:14313
Norway141:367,30634,015
South Africa131:4,167,516132,322
Netherlands131:1,299,01473,030
United Arab Emirates131:704,79025,221
Sweden131:757,44356,422
Singapore131:423,66918,211
Brazil101:21,407,433350,627
Bermuda101:6,5281,005
Switzerland81:1,026,61463,315
Qatar61:393,00055,922
Denmark61:940,78647,603
Isle of Man61:14,3043,169
Colombia51:9,554,81425,159
Bahrain41:337,1526,054
Guernsey41:16,1101,225
Malaysia31:9,831,408269,765
China31:455,773,85521,925
Vietnam21:46,323,0275,235
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Egypt11:91,935,754132,737
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Latvia11:2,050,04660,295
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland2,6661:1,662319
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2741:88,9619,277
Scotland311:120,7495,564
Wales21:784,20816,349
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,6241:30,9233,732

Kiernan (612) may also be a first name.

Kiernan Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(Celtic) 1 a contraction of the Irish Mac Thighearnain (th mute), Son of Tighearnan = Little Lord [Irish tighearna, lord, master + the diminutive suff. -á)n] 2 of Dark Complexion [Irish Ciarnan—ciar, dark + the diminutive suff. -nán] 3 for the Irish O'Cearnachain (usually Anglicized Kerna(g)han), Descendant of Little Cearnach = Victorious [Irish cearnach + the diminutive suff. -án] This origin of Kiernan is confined to parts of Ulster (de Wulf).

4 conf. with Kearnan1, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Mac Thighearnáin Basically the same name as MacTiernan, q.v. IF 273; MIF 265; Map Cavan and Fer

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

(Irish) Son of the lord or owner of the village.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Carnan, Gaelic, a heap; figuratively, a strong man, a thick—set, stout man. Cearnan, local, a square, a quadrangle.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

User-submitted Reference

Widely dispersed from two clans: branches of the O'Rourkes in Cavan and Leitrim, and the O'Connors of Connacht. A minor family were a branch of the Maguires of Fermanagh.

Meaning comes from MacThighearnain 'son of Tighearnan' ('lord')

Ancestors would be Tighearnan O'Rourke, King of Breffny in 1170; Tighearnan O'Connor, grandson of Turlough Mor O'Connor, King of Ireland.

- kiernandaragh

Kiernan Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Kiernan Come From? nationality or country of origin

Kiernan (Arabic: كيرنان) occurs in The United States more than any other country or territory. It can also occur as:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Kiernan? popularity and diffusion

It is the 29,781st most frequently held last name globally. It is borne by approximately 1 in 405,607 people. It occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 54 percent of Kiernan live; 53 percent live in North America and 52 percent live in Anglo-North America. It is also the 337,693rd most commonly occurring given name on earth It is held by 612 people.

The last name is most common in The United States, where it is held by 9,012 people, or 1 in 40,220. In The United States it is mostly concentrated in: New York, where 23 percent are found, California, where 8 percent are found and Florida, where 8 percent are found. Without taking into account The United States Kiernan occurs in 55 countries. It is also common in Ireland, where 21 percent are found and England, where 14 percent are found.

Kiernan Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Kiernan has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the Kiernan last name rose 555 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Ireland it rose 140 percent between 1901 and 2014; in England it rose 916 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it rose 1,358 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it rose 4,600 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Kiernan Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the surname is principally Catholic (98%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Kiernan last name are 4.09% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 50.86% being registered with the party.

The amount Kiernan earn in different countries varies markedly. In Norway they earn 20.39% more than the national average, earning 416,651 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 25.83% less than the national average, earning R 176,256 per year; in United States they earn 16.57% more than the national average, earning $50,300 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.39% more than the national average, earning $55,344 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Kiernan Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Kiernan in the Arabic language
كيرنانkyrnan-

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Kiernan Reference & Research

Kiernan FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Kiernan FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Kiernan
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis