Kerwin Family Crest & Name History

Kerwin is how some branches of the Kirwan family came to write their name. The family name meaning is “Descendant of Ciardubhán ("dark black")”, the same as for Kirwan. Before spelling was fixed, Kirwan was also written Kerwin. Before spelling was standardised, one family could appear under several forms. The same family of names includes Kirwin and O'Kirwan.

About 3,808 people in the United States were recorded as Kerwin in 2010, placing it 8,635 on the national list. That puts it inside the top 10,000 US surnames.

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Kerwin, so the heraldry linked to Kirwan is a starting point, not an automatic right. Get the complete Kerwin report, with a museum-style coat of arms.