Kerker Family History
Kerker Name Meaning
South German: variant of Kercher (see Karcher ) and in North America (also) an altered form of this or of one of its variants (compare Karriker ). South German: from the dialect word Kerker ‘prison’ (from Latin carcer) hence a metonymic occupational name for a prison warder or possibly a topographic name. North German: topographic name for someone who lived near a church from Low German kerke ‘church’ or possibly an occupational name from a shortened form of Low German Kerkener ‘sexton’. East German: topographic name for someone living near bushes from a German agent derivative of Sorbian kerk ‘bush undergrowth’. Dutch: topographic name for someone living near a dungeon Dutch kerker or a metonymic occupational name for a warden or a caretaker of a prison.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022