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

Kanaan, 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 Kanaan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kanaan in America

Kanaan is the 37288th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kanaan surname appeared 598 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 Kanaan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kanaan 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 Kanaan

The surname Kanaan has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in the region of ancient Canaan, which encompassed parts of modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria. The name is derived from the ancient Semitic word "Kanaan," which means "land of purple" or "land of merchants."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Kanaan can be traced back to the 15th century BCE, when it appeared in cuneiform inscriptions and ancient Egyptian texts referring to the region of Canaan. The name was also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where the land of Canaan is described as the promised land for the Israelites.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Kanaan was Yusuf al-Kanaan, a prominent Arab mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 9th century CE. He made significant contributions to the fields of trigonometry and spherical geometry.

In the 12th century, a notable figure named Ibn al-Kanaan served as a physician and philosopher in the court of the Ayyubid dynasty in Damascus. He wrote several treatises on medicine and philosophy, which influenced the intellectual discourse of the time.

During the Mamluk period in Egypt and Syria, the Kanaan family held influential positions in the military and administrative ranks. One such figure was Baibars al-Kanaan, who served as a governor in Damascus in the late 13th century.

In the 16th century, a scholar named Ibrahim al-Kanaan was renowned for his expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and Arabic literature. He authored several works on these subjects and taught at renowned educational institutions in Cairo and Damascus.

Another notable individual with the surname Kanaan was Hanna Kanaan, a prominent Lebanese poet and writer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He played a significant role in the literary renaissance of the Arab world during that period.

While the surname Kanaan has its roots in the Middle East, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the historical records and references mentioned above highlight the long-standing presence and significance of this surname in the region where it originated.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kanaan

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

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 Kanaan 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 Kanaan 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 Kanaan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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