Kienan
An English name of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 310 living Americans carry the first name Kienan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kienan today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kienan births was 1995 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kienan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kienan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
310
~ 1 in 1,105,659 Americans
Peak year
1995
22 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,303
Tracked since 1982
Census
Kienan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 302 people with the first name Kienan, which placed it at #29,353 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#29,353
National first-name rank
People counted
302
302 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kienan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kienan is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.2%) and Black (11.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kienan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kienan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.2% · 191
- Two or more races13.2% · 40
- Black or African American11.6% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 7
Popularity
Kienan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kienan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 139 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kienan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kienan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kienan
The name Kienan is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Gaelic name "Cionaodh," which means "ancient" or "enduring." The name was initially used in the Irish counties of Cork and Kerry, where it was popular among the Gaelic clans.
Kienan has various spellings, including Keenan, Keehan, and Keenan. These variations emerged due to the anglicization of the name during the 17th and 18th centuries when the English language became more prevalent in Ireland. The name's pronunciation also evolved, with the emphasis shifting from the first to the second syllable.
While there are no significant historical references to the name Kienan in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been recorded in Irish historical documents and genealogical records from the 16th century onwards. The earliest known bearer of the name was Keenan O'Reilly, a prominent member of the O'Reilly clan in County Cavan, Ireland, who lived in the late 16th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kienan or its variations. One of the earliest was Keenan O'Rourke (c. 1580-1650), an Irish chieftain and military leader who fought against English forces during the Irish Confederate Wars. Another prominent figure was Keenan Haffey (1755-1835), an Irish-born American soldier who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
In more recent times, Kienan Blunnie (1842-1919) was a notable Australian politician and businessman who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria. Keenan Wynn (1916-1986) was an American character actor known for his roles in films such as Annie Get Your Gun and Dr. Strangelove. Lastly, Keenan Kampa (born 1979) is a Russian-American high jumper who competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.
While the name Kienan has maintained a presence throughout history, it has never been among the most popular given names. However, its unique Irish roots and connection to the ancient Gaelic culture have contributed to its enduring appeal and use across generations.
People
Kienan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kienan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kienan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kienan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 310 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kienan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,105,659 US residents.
Is Kienan a common name?
We classify Kienan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 316 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kienan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kienan was 1995, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kienan is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kienan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 302 people with the name Kienan, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,353 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kienan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kienan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kienan leans strongly male. 289 people counted with this name were male (95.7%), compared with 13 female bearers (4.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kienan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kienan is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.2%) and Black (11.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kienan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kienan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (191 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kienan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kienan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kienan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kienan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kienan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kienan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Kienan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.