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

Kieren, 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 Kieren surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kieren in America

Kieren is the 129047th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kieren surname appeared 132 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 Kieren.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kieren 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 Kieren

The surname Kieren has its origins in Ireland, where it was first recorded in the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic name "O'Ciarain," which means "descendant of Ciaran." Ciaran was an early Irish saint who lived in the 6th century and founded several monasteries, including the famous Clonmacnoise.

The Kieren surname was originally found in County Offaly, where the Clonmacnoise monastery was located. It was a prominent name among the Ui Failge, a powerful Irish clan that ruled parts of Offaly and Laois. The name is also found in other parts of Ireland, particularly in Counties Cork, Kerry, and Limerick, where it was sometimes spelled as "Keiran" or "Kiaran."

One of the earliest recorded examples of the Kieren surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. It mentions a man named Muircheartach Ua Ciarain, who was the chief poet of Ireland in the 11th century.

Another notable figure with the Kieren surname was William Kieren (1827-1907), an Irish-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Chicago, including the Old St. Patrick's Church and the Holy Name Cathedral.

In the 16th century, the Kieren family was prominent in the area around the town of Rathkeale in County Limerick. One member of this family, James Kieren (c. 1560-1630), was a soldier and landowner who fought for the Irish Catholic Confederation during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Other notable individuals with the Kieren surname include:

1. John Kieren (1832-1901), an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist in New York City.
2. Patrick Kieren (1842-1908), an Irish-American Catholic priest and educator who served as the president of the University of Notre Dame from 1872 to 1877.
3. Mary Kieren (1879-1964), an American artist and illustrator known for her work in children's books.
4. James Kieren (1901-1988), an American basketball coach who led the University of Connecticut to several successful seasons in the 1930s and 1940s.
5. Michael Kieren (born 1962), an Australian artist and sculptor known for his large-scale public artworks.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kieren

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

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

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

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