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

McKeon, 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 McKeon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McKeon in America

McKeon is the 4839th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McKeon surname appeared 7,283 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname McKeon.

We can also compare 2010 data for McKeon 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 McKeon

The surname McKeon is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mac Eidhghein," which means "son of Eidhghein," a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "eidhe," meaning "guest" or "visitor."

The name was prominent in counties Monaghan and Cavan in the province of Ulster, Ireland. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns of Ireland, where it appeared as "McKeon" in 1594.

In the 17th century, the McKeons were among the families who lost their lands during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the subsequent Plantation of Ulster. Many McKeons were forced to migrate or seek refuge in other parts of Ireland or abroad.

One notable historical figure with the surname McKeon was John McKeon, a Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe from 1598 to 1609. He was actively involved in the Irish Confederate Wars and played a significant role in the defense of Munster against the English forces.

Another prominent McKeon was James McKeon (1790-1867), an Irish-American political figure who served as the 10th Mayor of New York City from 1851 to 1853. He was also a successful businessman and real estate developer.

In the 18th century, the McKeon family produced several notable writers and intellectuals, including Hugh McKeon (1736-1818), an Irish Catholic priest, scholar, and linguist who is known for his work on preserving the Irish language and culture.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the McKeon surname in the United States can be found in the records of the Maryland Province Archives, where a Patrick McKeon is mentioned as a landowner in Baltimore County in 1692.

Other notable McKeons throughout history include:

1. Thomas McKeon (1805-1885), an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 4th congressional district.
2. John McKeon (1913-1975), an American playwright and screenwriter best known for his work on the film "The Missouri Traveler" (1958).
3. Kevin McKeon (born 1954), an American actor and director known for his roles in films like "Caddyshack" (1980) and "Meatballs" (1979).
4. Stephen McKeon (born 1976), an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Bombers in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1996 to 2008.
5. Sinéad McKeon (born 1986), an Irish actress known for her roles in films like "Sing Street" (2016) and the TV series "Domina" (2021).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McKeon

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

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

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

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