Kerr (surname) explained
Kerr is an English and Scottish surname, a topographic name for someone who lived by a marsh or swampy woodland. Middle English kerr means ‘brushwood wet ground.’[1] See Clan Kerr for the Scottish origins.
Notable people with the surname include:
A
- Alan Kerr (born 1964), Canadian ice hockey player
- Alex Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Alexander Kerr (1892–1964), English marine engineer on the Endurance
- Alexander Kerr (banker) (1838–1909), Scottish banker
- Alexander Kerr (professor), the Linda and Jack Gill Chair in Music at Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University
- Alexander Robert Kerr (1770–1831), Royal Navy officer
- Alfred Kerr (1867–1948), German journalist, critic and writer
- Alice Forgy Kerr (born 1954), American politician from Kentucky
- Allen Kerr (politician) (born 1956), member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
- Amabel Kerr (1846–1906), British writer
- Andrew Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Angus W. Kerr (1873–1927), American politician
- Anita Kerr (1927–2022), American singer and arranger
- Archibald John Kerr Clark Kerr, 1st Baron Inverchapel (1882–1951), British diplomat
- Arthur Francis George Kerr (1877–1942), Irish medical doctor and botanist
- Austin Kerr (born 1989), member of American rock band Set It Off
B
- Baine Kerr (1919–2008), American lawyer
- Barbara Kerr, Canadian equestrian
- Beatrice Kerr (1887–1971), Australian swimmer and diver
- Benjamin Kerr (1977-), American Instructor and Historian
- Ben Kerr (1930–2005), Canadian broadcaster, and musician
- Bill Kerr (1922–2014), Australian actor
- Brian Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Bronwen Kerr, New Zealand architect
- Brook Kerr (born 1973), American actress
C
- Charles Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Clark Kerr (1911–2003), American professor of economics, academic administrator (first Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley)
- Cristie Kerr (born 1977), American golfer
D
- Daniel Kerr (born 1983), Australian rules footballer (son of Australian rules footballer Roger Kerr and brother of Samantha "Sam" Kerr)
- Daniel Kerr (politician) (1836–1916), American politician
- David Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Deborah Kerr (1921–2007), British film and television actress
- Deborah Kerr (canoeist) (born 1997), Scottish canoeist
- Dickey Kerr (1893–1963), American baseball player
- Don Kerr, Canadian musician and record producer
- Donald Kerr (born 1939), American intelligence officer
- Donald Alexander Kerr (1859–1919), Anglican minister and educator in South Australia
- Donald Beviss Kerr (1919–1942), Australian poet
- Donald M. Kerr (conservationist) (1946–2015), American biologist and museum founder
- Donald Kerr (lawyer) (1893–1928), South Australian legal scholar and author
- Douglas Kerr (born 1951), British writer and literary academic
- Duncan Kerr (born 1952), Australian judge
E
F
- Fergus Kerr (born 1931), Scottish Roman Catholic priest and scholar
- Francis Hannah Kerr (1956–2008), known as Frankie Venom, Scottish-Canadian lead singer with Teenage Head
- Frank John Kerr (1918–2000), Australian astronomer and physicist
- Frank Kerr (footballer) (1889–1977)
- Frederick Kerr (1858–1933), English actor
G
- Gavin Kerr (born 1977), British rugby union footballer
- George Kerr (disambiguation), multiple people
- Gordon Kerr (disambiguation), multiple people
- Graham Kerr (born 1934), British cooking personality
- Greg Kerr (born 1947), Canadian politician
H
- Sir Hamilton Kerr, 1st Baronet (1903–1974), British politician
- Hamish Kerr (born 1996), New Zealand high jumper
- Hugh Kerr (born 1944), Scottish politician and social policy expert
I
J
- Jack Kerr (cricketer) (1910–2007), New Zealand cricketer
- Jack Kerr (ice hockey) (1863–1933), Canadian ice hockey player
- James/Jim Kerr, several people
- Jane Kerr (born 1968), Canadian competitive swimmer
- Jasper Kerr (1898–1986), Scottish footballer
- Jean Kerr (1922–2003), American author and playwright
- Jerry Kerr (1912–1999), Scottish footballer
- John Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Johnny Kerr (1932–2009), American basketball player, coach, executive, and broadcaster
- Josiah Kerr (1861–1920), American politician
- Joseph Kerr (1765–1837), American politician
- Joseph Kerr (Canadian politician) (died 1902), merchant and politician from Ontario
- Joseph Kerr (Wisconsin politician) (died 1855), American politician
- Josh Kerr (rugby league) (born 1996), Australian rugby league player
- Josh Kerr (runner) (born 1997), British middle-distance runner
- Judith Kerr (1923–2019), German-born British writer and illustrator
K
- Katharine Kerr (born 1944), American science fiction and fantasy novelist
- Kevin Kerr (disambiguation), several people
M
- Malcolm H. Kerr (1931–1984), American academic (see also his father Stanley Kerr and son Steve Kerr)
- Malcolm Kerr (politician) (born 1950), Australian politician
- Mark Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Martin Kerr, American neo-Nazi, commander of the New Order of the American Nazi Party
- M.E. Kerr, a pseudonym used by Marijane Meaker (1927–2022), American novelist and short story writer
- Mel Kerr (1903–1980), Canadian baseball player
- Michael Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Miranda Kerr (born 1983), Australian model
N
O
- Orin Kerr (born 1971), American lawyer and scholar
P
R
- Ralph Kerr (1891–1941), British Royal Navy captain of HMS Hood
- Ray Kerr (born 1994), American baseball player
- Robbie Kerr (racing driver) (born 1971), British race car driver
- Robbie Kerr (Australian cricketer) (born 1961), Australian cricket player
- Robert Kerr (disambiguation), several people
- Roger Kerr (1945–2011), New Zealand businessman
- Roger Kerr (footballer) (born 1960), India-born Australian rules footballer (father of Daniel and Sam Kerr)
- Ronan Kerr (?–2011), murdered Northern Irish police constable
- Ronnie Kerr (born 1974), American actor
- Rowan Rait Kerr (1891–1961), Irish cricketer and administrator
- Roy Kerr (born 1934), New Zealand mathematician
S
- Samantha Kerr (born 1993), Australian soccer player (respectively the daughter and sister of footballers Roger Kerr and Daniel Kerr)
- Samantha Kerr (born 1999), Scottish football player
- Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian (1833–1900), British diplomat and politician
- Scott Kerr (born 1981), English footballer
- Shelley Kerr (born 1969), Scottish footballer and football manager
- Sinead Kerr (born 1978), Scottish ice dancer
- Sophie Kerr (1880–1965), American writer
- Stanley Kerr (1894–1976), American humanitarian, clinical biochemist and educator (father of academic Malcolm Kerr and grandfather of Steve Kerr)
- Stephen Kerr (born 1960), British politician
- Stephen Kerr (born 1992), Scottish professional wrestler known as Stevie Boy
- Steve Kerr (born 1965), American basketball player, broadcaster, executive, and coach (son of academic Malcolm Kerr and grandson of Stanley Kerr)
- Stu Kerr (1928–1994), American television personality
T
- Tim Kerr (born 1960), Canadian professional ice hockey player
V
W
- Lord Walter Kerr (1839–1927), Scottish officer in the British Royal Navy
- Walter Kerr (1913–1996), American writer and theater critic
- Warwick Estevam Kerr (1922–2018), Brazilian agricultural engineer, geneticist, entomologist, and professor
- Wayne Kerr (born 1985), Irish rugby league player
- William Kerr (disambiguation), numerous people
- William Alexander Kerr (1831–1919), Scottish lieutenant in the 24th Bombay Native Infantry
- William G. Kerr, mayor of Hamilton, Ontario in 1853
- William Johnson Kerr (1787–1845), Canadian military and political leader
- W. Rolfe Kerr (born 1935), American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Dictionary of American Family Names . 2022 . 2 . English and Scottish: topographic name for someone who lived by a marsh or swampy woodland Middle English kerr ‘brushwood wet ground’.
