The Keane surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,459 people carried this name — #3,154 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 25,800 people counted. That is up 8% from 10,622 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Keane surname

Probably borrowed from Irish Ó Catháin (“descendant of Cathán”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Keane» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the keen’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Hugh le Kene, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Kean, Keen, Keene, Keane and Kene.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 440 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 202 births for the Keane name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 9,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 17 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 113
Connacht 70
Leinster 13
Ulster 6

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

36 people named Keane live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Geneva 15
Bern 9
Lucerne 8
Zurich 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

31 people named Keane is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 31

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland’s registers today

Keane was recorded 18 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1248th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 18. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Keane in American newspapers,
1894–1912.

Newspaper page from Santa Fe New Mexican carrying the name Keane
Santa Fe New Mexican 1910-03-30
Newspaper page from The Seattle Post-intelligencer carrying the name Keane
The Seattle Post-intelligencer 1894-06-11
Newspaper page from The Laramie Republican carrying the name Keane
The Laramie Republican 1912-11-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,338 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Keane in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

49,727 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Keane. The most, 10,105, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 4.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 11,912
Western Australia 10,491
Victoria 10,157
Queensland 6,974
South Australia 6,194
ACT (Canberra) 2,405
Tasmania 1,515
Northern Territory 27

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Keane.

Who carried it

People named Keane,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John J. Keane
    John J. Keane 1839–1918 · Catholic priest
  • Edward Keane
    Edward Keane 1844–1904 · businessperson
  • Jeremiah Joseph Keane
    Jeremiah Joseph Keane 1855– · politician
  • James Keane
    James Keane 1857–1929 · Catholic priest
  • Sir John Keane, 5th Baronet
    Sir John Keane, 5th Baronet 1873–1956 · businessperson

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 249 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Keane,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States4,121 records

4,121 records of the Keane name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1,291
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,191
  • Other U.S. records 1,639
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John E. Keane

    Born 1908 in Maryland. Enlisted 1942 at Spokane, Washington; kitchen worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1969, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Catherine Keane

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 40; servant. From Queenstown, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Patrick Brendan Keane

    Born 1946; from Chicago, Illinois. U.S. Marine Corps, assaultman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 4,121 records for Keane in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia1,539 records

1,539 records of the Keane name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 600
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 363
  • Other Australian records 576
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Margaret Keane

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Blackfriar, sailing from Kingston in 1851. Native of Waterford. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Patrick Keane

    Died 1860 in Deloraine, Tasmania, aged 31. Will registered in Tasmania in 1860.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margt Keane

    Arrived in Victoria in 1855 aboard the Persia, aged 24; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,539 records for Keane in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Ireland142 records

142 records of the Keane name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Eugene Keane

    Died 1993, aged 53; buried at Killimorday, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Frank Keane

    Died 2001, aged 87; buried at Killererin (Old), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick Keane

    Died 1909, aged 30; buried at Derrybrien, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 142 records for Keane in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand41 records

41 records of the Keane name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 29
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 8
  • Other New Zealand records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Rose Keane

    Died 1979, aged 65; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Arthur Keane

    Died 1975, aged 70; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Roland Thomas Keane

    Died 1999, aged 72; buried at Mercury Bay Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 41 records for Keane in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom28 records

28 records of the Keane name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 15
  • Stirling Council burial records 7
  • Other British records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alexander Keane

    Died 1988, aged 66; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Apthorpe Keane

    Will proved in 1931; of Hawarden, Flint.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Keane

    Bedfordshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 28 records for Keane in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada27 records

27 records of the Keane name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 13
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 7
  • Other Canadian records 7
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Keane

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Phoenecian, landing at Quebec, bound for Parry Sound, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Daniel Charles Keane

    Died 1973 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia, aged 29.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Charles Edwin Keane

    Died 1952; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 27 records for Keane in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

France3 records

3 records of the Keane name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Ellen Keane

    Born 1913 in Ireland; died 2001 in Lyon (Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Lakme Madeleine Albertine Keane

    Born 1920 in Paris; died 1983 in Belgium.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Keane in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Keane name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Hubertus Keane

    In the population register of Leeds, England; born 1886 in Leeds, England.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Keane.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Keane is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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