Kirchner, a surname of German origin, from the Middle High German word, 'kirchenaere' (English: 'sexton'). Kirchner originated as an occupational surname for a church worker, such as a priest, church assistant or a church property administrator. Notable people with the name include:
Arts
Alfred Kirchner (born 1937), German actor, theatre director, opera director, theatre manager Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938), German Expressionist artist Ignaz Kirchner (1946–2018), German actor Jaime Lee Kirchner (1981), American actress Leon Kirchner (1919-2009), American composer Marilena Kirchner (1997), German volksmusik and schlager singer Paul Kirchner (1952), American illustrator and comic-book author Raphael Kirchner (1876–1917), Austrian artist and illustrator Shabier Kirchner (born 1987/1988), Antiguan cinematographer and filmmaker Theodor Kirchner (1823–1903), German composer Volker David Kirchner (1942–2020), German violist and composer
Politics
Alicia Kirchner (born 1946), Argentine politician
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (born 1953), Vice President of Argentina
Máximo Kirchner (born 1977), Argentine politician
Néstor Kirchner (1950–2010), former President of Argentina
William G. Kirchner (1916–1999), American politician and businessman
Sports
Albert Edward Lester "Alby" Kirchner (1888–1942), Australian rules footballer
Andreas Kirchner (1953-2010), German hammer thrower and bob pusher
H. E. Kirchner (1937–1993), American basketball player
Mark Kirchner (1970), German biathlete
Michael Kirchner or Corporal Kirchner (1957–2021), American professional wrestler Zane Kirchner (1984), South African rugby player
Other
16441 Kirchner, asteroid discovered in 1989
Friedrich Kirchner (1885–1960), German General during the Second World War
James Kirchner, University of California professor
Johanna Kirchner (1889–1944), anti-Nazi dissident
Kirchner's viscacha rat, species of rodents in the family Octodontidae described in 2014, one of two species in the genus Tympanoctomys Kirchner Cultural Centre, cultural centre located in Buenos Aires, Argentina Kirchneriella, genus of green algae in the family Selenastraceae Kirchner Peak, isolated peak in Antarctica Kirchnerism, Argentine political movement Kirchner v. Venus (1859), English Law case precedent that defined freight as "the reward payable to the carrier of for the safe carriage and delivery of goods" Oskar von Kirchner (1851–1925), German botanist and agronomist