2000
#636
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,527
First available Census row
Per 100,000 17.99
Uncommon Last name
Kane
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O Catháin," meaning "descendant of Cathán" (a warrior or battle-mighty one).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 55,990 Americans carry the last name Kane. That puts it at #684 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.34 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,122 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kane surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kane with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
56K
1 in 6,122
Census rank
#684
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
49K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 48,826 bearers of the surname Kane in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.34 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 684th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kane, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kane
The surname Kane is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "O'Cathain" meaning "descendant of Cathain." The name is thought to have originated in the 10th century in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It is believed to be an anglicized version of the Irish name "O'Cathain," which was first recorded in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle, in the year 1011.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Kane appears in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, where it is spelled "Kahan." This suggests that the name had already been adopted by English speakers by the 12th century. In the 13th century, the name was recorded in various forms, such as "Kahan," "Kahan," and "Cahan," in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror.
One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Kane was Sir John Kane, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, around 1550. He was a military leader and served as the Governor of Carrickfergus Castle in the early 17th century. Another prominent individual with the name was Robert Kane, an Irish chemist and physicist born in 1809, who made significant contributions to the study of thermodynamics and is known for the Kane Equation.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kane was in the 1630s, when a family with the surname settled in New England. John Kane, born in 1619 in County Antrim, Ireland, was among the first Kanes to arrive in America, settling in Boston in 1635. Other notable figures with the surname include Elisha Kent Kane, an American explorer and naval officer born in 1820, who led two expeditions to the Arctic regions.
The name Kane has also been associated with several place names, such as Kaneville, Illinois, which was named after Elijah Kane, one of the town's early settlers. Similarly, Kane County, Utah, was named after Colonel Thomas L. Kane, a prominent figure in the Mormon migration to Utah in the 19th century. Additionally, the Kane family has produced several notable writers and artists, including the Irish playwright John Kane and the American novelist Jane Kane.
Throughout history, the surname Kane has been associated with various professions and fields, including politics, military, science, and the arts. Some notable figures with the last name Kane include Bob Kane, the American comic book writer and artist who created the popular superhero character Batman, and Patrick Kane, a professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kane
Among Census respondents with the surname Kane, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kane bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kane surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 42,146
- Black or African American4.9% · 2,372
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,673
- Two or more races3.1% · 1,518
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 883
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 234
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kane
Kane appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,584
+2,057 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 17.15
Rank movement Down 44 places
2020
#684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,826
-1,758 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 16.34
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #636 | 48,527 | 17.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #680 | 50,584 | 17.15 | +2,057 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 44 places |
| 2020 | #684 | 48,826 | 16.34 | -1,758 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kane surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #680 | #684 | -0.6% |
| Count | 50,584 | 48,826 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 17.15 | 16.34 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kane bearers went from 50,584 to 48,826 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #680 to #684.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kane
FAQ
Kane surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kane?
Name Census estimates that about 55,990 living Americans carry the surname Kane. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,122 residents.
How common is Kane?
Kane ranks #684 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.34 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 48,826 people with the surname Kane. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (55,990), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.34 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.34 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Kane.
Has Kane become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kane went from 50,584 recorded bearers to 48,826. That is a decrease of 1,758 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #680 to #684.
What does the Census say about the background of Kane?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kane, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kane in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (42,146 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kane appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Black (4.9%), Hispanic (3.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kane (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kane mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O Catháin," meaning "descendant of Cathán" (a warrior or battle-mighty one). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kane (16.34 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Kane?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Kane on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.