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

Kane, 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 Kane surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kane in America

Kane is the 680th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kane surname appeared 50,584 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 17 people would have the surname Kane.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kane 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 Kane

The surname Kane is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "O'Cathain" meaning "descendant of Cathain." The name is thought to have originated in the 10th century in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It is believed to be an anglicized version of the Irish name "O'Cathain," which was first recorded in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle, in the year 1011.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Kane appears in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, where it is spelled "Kahan." This suggests that the name had already been adopted by English speakers by the 12th century. In the 13th century, the name was recorded in various forms, such as "Kahan," "Kahan," and "Cahan," in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror.

One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Kane was Sir John Kane, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, around 1550. He was a military leader and served as the Governor of Carrickfergus Castle in the early 17th century. Another prominent individual with the name was Robert Kane, an Irish chemist and physicist born in 1809, who made significant contributions to the study of thermodynamics and is known for the Kane Equation.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kane was in the 1630s, when a family with the surname settled in New England. John Kane, born in 1619 in County Antrim, Ireland, was among the first Kanes to arrive in America, settling in Boston in 1635. Other notable figures with the surname include Elisha Kent Kane, an American explorer and naval officer born in 1820, who led two expeditions to the Arctic regions.

The name Kane has also been associated with several place names, such as Kaneville, Illinois, which was named after Elijah Kane, one of the town's early settlers. Similarly, Kane County, Utah, was named after Colonel Thomas L. Kane, a prominent figure in the Mormon migration to Utah in the 19th century. Additionally, the Kane family has produced several notable writers and artists, including the Irish playwright John Kane and the American novelist Jane Kane.

Throughout history, the surname Kane has been associated with various professions and fields, including politics, military, science, and the arts. Some notable figures with the last name Kane include Bob Kane, the American comic book writer and artist who created the popular superhero character Batman, and Patrick Kane, a professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kane

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!