Keener
An English name meaning enthusiastic or eager person.
Name Census estimates that about 2 living Americans carry the first name Keener. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Keener today is around 101 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keener births was 1943 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keener. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Keener is about 101 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Keeners were born before 1935.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Keener. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
2
~ 1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Peak year
1943
5 babies that year
Average age
101
years old
1943 SSA rank
#3,800
Tracked since 1943
Popularity
Keener: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Keener by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Keener during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Keener
The name Keener has its origins in the English language and is derived from the Old English word "cene," meaning "bold" or "brave." It is believed to have emerged as a surname in the Middle Ages, and its use as a given name came about much later.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Keener can be traced back to the 14th century, when a man named John Keener was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379. This suggests that the name was already in use as a surname during that time period.
In the 16th century, the name gained popularity among Puritans, who valued virtues such as courage and fortitude. One notable individual with the name Keener from this era was William Keener, a Puritan minister who lived from 1564 to 1642 and served as the vicar of Kirby Muxloe in Leicestershire, England.
As the name transitioned into a given name, it was often bestowed upon individuals with a reputation for bravery or boldness. One such example is Keener Dowsing, a British soldier who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the Military General Service Medal for his valor in various battles between 1793 and 1814.
In the 19th century, the name Keener gained further recognition with the birth of Keener Huggins (1848-1921), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Huggins Oil Company and donated generously to educational institutions in his native Texas.
Another notable figure with the name Keener was Keener Pryor (1897-1969), an American judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1954 to 1969 and was known for his fair and impartial rulings.
While the name Keener has never been among the most popular given names, it has maintained a unique and distinctive quality throughout history, often associated with traits of courage, boldness, and fortitude.
People
Keener + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keener as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Keener: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keener?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keener going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 171,377,169 US residents.
Is Keener a common name?
We classify Keener as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keener most popular?
The single biggest year for Keener was 1943, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keener is about 101 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Keener in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keener a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keener in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Keener still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keener in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Keener can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Keener?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.