Find out how popular the last name Kahane is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kahane.

Kahane, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kahane surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kahane in America

Kahane is the 63698th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kahane surname appeared 313 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kahane.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kahane to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kahane

The surname KAHANE originated from the Hebrew language, with its roots traced back to ancient Israel. Kahane is a variant spelling of the biblical name "Kohen," which means "priest" in Hebrew. This name was initially adopted by members of the priestly class of the Israelites, the Kohanim, who were descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname KAHANE can be found in medieval Jewish communities across Europe, particularly in Germany and France. During this period, many Jews adopted hereditary surnames based on their professions, locations, or patronymics. The surname KAHANE was likely chosen by families with ancestral ties to the Kohanim, reflecting their priestly lineage.

In the 11th century, a famous Jewish scholar and philosopher, Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak, better known as Rashi (1040-1105), was born in Troyes, France. Rashi's full name was Shlomo ben Yitzchak Kahane, indicating that his family carried the surname KAHANE.

Another notable figure with the surname KAHANE was Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990), a controversial Jewish political activist and founder of the Jewish Defense League. He advocated for the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel and the transfer of Palestinian Arabs from the occupied territories.

In the 19th century, a prominent Russian-Jewish writer and novelist, Semyon Samuilovich Kahane (1826-1910), gained recognition for his works that depicted the lives of Russian Jews during that era.

The surname KAHANE has also been associated with various places and locations throughout history. For example, the town of Kahana in Hawaii derives its name from a Hawaiian chief named Kahane, who lived in the area during the 18th century.

It is worth noting that the surname KAHANE has undergone various spelling variations over time, including Kahan, Kahn, and Cohen, which are all derivatives of the original Hebrew word "Kohen." These variations can be attributed to linguistic adaptations and transliterations as the name spread across different regions and cultures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kahane

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kahane.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kahane was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kahane has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kahane was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kahane, please contact us.

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