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

Keren, 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 Keren surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Keren in America

Keren is the 83541st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Keren surname appeared 225 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 Keren.

We can also compare 2010 data for Keren 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 Keren

The surname Keren is believed to have originated in the Middle East, specifically in the region of modern-day Israel and the surrounding areas. It can be traced back to the Hebrew language and is thought to be derived from the word "keren," which means "ray" or "beam" of light.

One of the earliest known references to the name Keren can be found in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh or the Old Testament. In the Book of Exodus, there is a mention of a place called "Keren-Happuch," which some scholars believe may be related to the origin of the surname.

During the Middle Ages, the name Keren was relatively uncommon but can be found in various historical records and manuscripts from the region. One notable example is a reference to a person named Keren ben Avraham, who was a prominent scholar and rabbi living in the 12th century in the city of Qirqisiya, which is now part of modern-day Iraq.

As the Jewish diaspora spread across Europe and other parts of the world, the surname Keren began to appear in various regions. In the 16th century, there are records of a family named Keren living in the city of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Keren was Isaac Keren, a Jewish philosopher and scholar who lived in the 17th century. He was born in Amsterdam in 1623 and is known for his works on Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.

Another notable figure with the surname Keren was Yehuda Leib Keren, a prominent Hasidic rabbi who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was born in Galicia, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in 1760 and is known for his contributions to Hasidic thought and teachings.

In the 19th century, the surname Keren can be found in various parts of Europe, including Germany, Poland, and Russia. One prominent individual from this period was Moshe Keren, a Jewish philosopher and author who was born in Vilna, Lithuania (now Vilnius, Lithuania) in 1824. He wrote extensively on Jewish philosophy and ethics.

As Jewish communities migrated to other parts of the world, the surname Keren also spread. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there are records of individuals with the surname Keren living in various cities in the United States, such as New York and Chicago.

One notable American with the surname Keren was Abraham Keren, a writer and journalist who was born in Poland in 1879 and later immigrated to the United States. He worked for various Jewish publications and was known for his writings on Jewish culture and literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Keren

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Keren, 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!