2000
#10,074
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,950
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Keown
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Caomháin, meaning "descendant of Caomhán," a personal name derived from "caomh," meaning "gentle, kind."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,273 Americans carry the last name Keown. That puts it at #10,695 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 104,722 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keown surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Keown with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 104,722
Census rank
#10,695
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,854 bearers of the surname Keown in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10695th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keown, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keown
The surname Keown is believed to have originated in Ireland, with roots dating back to the medieval period. It is thought to be an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Cúáin or Ó Comhráin, which means "descendant of Cuán" or "descendant of Comhrán" respectively. These personal names were derived from the Old Irish words cúan, meaning "harbor," and comhrán, meaning "fellow-traveler."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Keown surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the entry for the year 1285, a man named Domhnall Ó Cúáin is mentioned as the Lord of Uí Fiachrach Aidne, a territory located in what is now County Galway.
The Keown surname is particularly associated with County Mayo in the west of Ireland. It is believed that many bearers of the name can trace their ancestry back to the Ó Comhráin sept, a powerful clan that held lands around the town of Balla in the 13th and 14th centuries.
One notable historical figure with the surname Keown was Brian Keown, a Catholic priest and scholar who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Born in County Mayo around 1570, Keown studied at the Irish College in Salamanca, Spain, and later served as a professor of theology at the University of Salamanca.
Another individual of note was Philip Keown, a 17th-century Irish soldier who fought on the Royalist side during the English Civil War. Keown served under the Marquess of Ormond and was involved in several battles, including the Siege of Dublin in 1649.
In the 18th century, a man named John Keown gained recognition as a skilled architect and builder. Born in County Mayo around 1720, Keown was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in the region, including the Church of Ireland in Ballina and the Nesbitt Arms Hotel in Ardnaree.
During the 19th century, the Keown surname spread beyond Ireland as many families emigrated to other parts of the world, particularly to England, the United States, and Australia. One prominent Australian with the name was John Keown, a politician and businessman who served as the Mayor of Sydney from 1875 to 1876.
Another notable figure was William Keown, a Scottish-born artist who lived from 1797 to 1863. Keown was known for his landscape paintings, many of which depicted scenes from the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District in England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keown
Among Census respondents with the surname Keown, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Keown bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Keown surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 2,586
- Two or more races4.5% · 128
- Black or African American2.5% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keown
Keown appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,965
+15 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 684 places
2020
#10,695
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,854
-111 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Up 63 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,074 | 2,950 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,758 | 2,965 | 1.01 | +15 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 684 places |
| 2020 | #10,695 | 2,854 | 0.95 | -111 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 63 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Keown surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,758 | #10,695 | 0.6% |
| Count | 2,965 | 2,854 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.95 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keown bearers went from 2,965 to 2,854 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 63 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,758 to #10,695.
FAQ
Keown surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keown?
Name Census estimates that about 3,273 living Americans carry the surname Keown. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 104,722 residents.
How common is Keown?
Keown ranks #10,695 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,854 people with the surname Keown. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,273), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Keown.
Has Keown become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keown went from 2,965 recorded bearers to 2,854. That is a decrease of 111 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,758 to #10,695.
What does the Census say about the background of Keown?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keown, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (2.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Keown in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (2,586 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keown appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Black (2.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Keown (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Keown mean?
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Caomháin, meaning "descendant of Caomhán," a personal name derived from "caomh," meaning "gentle, kind." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Keown (0.95 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Keown?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.