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

Keng, 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 Keng surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Keng in America

Keng is the 53419th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Keng surname appeared 387 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 Keng.

We can also compare 2010 data for Keng 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 Keng

The surname KENG originates from Sweden and Denmark, where it first appeared around the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse word "kengr," which means "bent" or "crooked." This may have been used to describe someone with a physical characteristic or perhaps referred to someone living on a winding road or near a crooked stream.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the KENG name can be found in the Danish Census Records of 1645, which lists a Hans KENG residing in the town of Randers. In the Swedish Church Records from 1678, there is an entry for the birth of Lars KENG in the parish of Västra Eneby.

The KENG surname was also present in some of the earliest records of Swedish immigrants to North America. Notable examples include Nils KENG, who arrived in Delaware in 1638, and Peder KENG, who settled in New Sweden (present-day Pennsylvania) in 1643.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, variations of the spelling included KENGH, KENGHE, and KJENG, reflecting the influence of regional dialects and scribal inconsistencies in record-keeping.

One of the earliest known individuals with the KENG surname was Johan KENG, a Swedish merchant and ship owner who lived from 1672 to 1738. He was involved in the lucrative trade between Sweden and the Dutch East Indies.

Another notable figure was Carl Gustaf KENG (1766-1838), a Swedish military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became the Governor of Jönköping County.

In the literary world, the name is associated with the Swedish author and poet Anna KENG (1819-1892), whose works often explored themes of nature and rural life.

During the 19th century, the KENG surname also found its way to other parts of Europe, with records indicating families bearing this name in Germany, Poland, and Russia.

One prominent individual from this period was the Russian mathematician and physicist Nikolai KENG (1850-1915), who made significant contributions to the study of differential equations and mathematical physics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Keng

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

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

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

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