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

Kenton, 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 Kenton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kenton in America

Kenton is the 18198th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kenton surname appeared 1,529 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kenton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kenton 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 Kenton

The surname Kenton originated in England and has its roots in the Old English language. The name is derived from the Old English words "cyne" meaning "royal" and "tun" meaning "settlement" or "town". The earliest known spelling of the name was "Cynetun", which likely referred to a settlement or town with royal connections or ownership.

The name Kenton is believed to have originated in the county of Middlesex, located in the south-eastern part of England. The earliest record of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror. The book mentions a place called "Cynetun" in Middlesex, which is believed to be the modern-day Kenton.

In the 12th century, the name Kenton appeared in various records and documents, including the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1194, where a person named William de Kenton was mentioned. The surname also appeared in the Curia Regis Rolls of Essex in 1210, referring to a person named Robert de Kenton.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name Kenton was Sir Thomas Kenton, a prominent English knight who lived during the 14th century. He served as a member of the Privy Council under King Edward III and was involved in various military campaigns during the Hundred Years' War.

Another notable person with the surname Kenton was John Kenton, an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is best known for his work "The Scoffer Scoft", a satirical play published in 1612.

In the 18th century, Simon Kenton, an American frontiersman and explorer, was born in Virginia in 1755. He played a significant role in the exploration and settlement of the Ohio River Valley and became a legendary figure in the American frontier.

The name Kenton has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Kenton in Middlesex, Kenton in Northamptonshire, and Kenton in Devon. These place names likely derived from the Old English word "Cynetun" and reflected the historical settlements or towns associated with the surname.

Throughout history, the surname Kenton has been recorded with various spellings, including Kyneton, Kineton, and Keneton, reflecting regional variations and changes in spelling conventions over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kenton

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

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

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

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