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.
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Mac Eoghain," meaning "son of Eoghan" (Owen), a popular medieval Irish name.
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.
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.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 4839 | 4503 | 7.19% |
Count | 7,283 | 7,255 | 0.39% |
Proportion per 100k | 2.47 | 2.69 | -8.53% |
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:
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for McKeon was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 94.81% | 6,905 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | 0.48% | 35 |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.84% | 61 |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.14% | 10 |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 1.40% | 102 |
Hispanic Origin | 2.33% | 170 |
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.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 94.81% | 96.20% | -1.46% |
Black | 0.48% | 0.58% | -18.87% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.84% | 0.58% | 36.62% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.14% | 0.18% | -25.00% |
Two or More Races | 1.40% | 0.94% | 39.32% |
Hispanic | 2.33% | 1.53% | 41.45% |
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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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/mckeon-surname-popularity/">McKeon last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"McKeon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 10, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/mckeon-surname-popularity/.
"McKeon last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/mckeon-surname-popularity/. Accessed 10 October, 2024
McKeon last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/mckeon-surname-popularity/.
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