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

Kivlen, 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 Kivlen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kivlen in America

Kivlen is the 158432nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kivlen surname appeared 102 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 Kivlen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kivlen 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 Kivlen

The surname Kivlen is believed to have originated in Ireland, likely in the 17th or 18th century. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the Irish surname Keaveney, which is derived from the Gaelic personal name Caomhánach, meaning "handsome" or "comely."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Kivlen can be found in various Irish records and documents from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. One notable example is Patrick Kivlen, a farmer born in County Mayo in 1785, whose name appears in the Tithe Applotment Books of 1833.

The name Kivlen has also been associated with several places in Ireland, such as Kivlen Hill and Kivlen Townland in County Sligo. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

In the 19th century, the Kivlen surname began to appear more frequently in records of Irish immigrants to countries like the United States and Canada. Michael Kivlen, born in County Mayo in 1820, was one of the earliest recorded bearers of the name to arrive in America, settling in New York City in the 1850s.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Kivlen. John Kivlen (1845-1916), born in County Sligo, was a prominent Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Kivlen Hat Company in Philadelphia. Another notable bearer was Margaret Kivlen (1892-1978), a Irish-American educator and advocate for children's rights, who served as the first female president of the New York City Board of Education.

Other notable individuals with the surname Kivlen include:

1. Thomas Kivlen (1860-1932), an Irish-born American labor leader and politician in New York.
2. James Kivlen (1876-1948), an Irish-born American baseball player who played for the Boston Americans in the early 1900s.
3. Mary Kivlen (1901-1987), an Irish-American writer and journalist who contributed to several publications in the mid-20th century.
4. Patrick Kivlen (1922-2003), an Irish-born American actor and theater director, known for his work on Broadway and in regional theater productions.
5. Sarah Kivlen (born 1975), a contemporary Irish author and poet, whose works explore themes of identity, family, and the Irish diaspora.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kivlen

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

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

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

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