Given name & surname · also Gaelic
Kean
“a warrior”·“one who is sharp”
Kean is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a warrior” and “one who is sharp”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a warrior” and “one who is sharp”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1944. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kean through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 997
- 997 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2007
- 31 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #7,955 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −22%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 7,955 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 21.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 31 in 2007. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,111 as a first name in 2020; 3,860 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kean’s family of names
Kean has a related form in Keana. Kean has a related form in Kien. Kean is an English adaptation of Cian.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Keanavariant
- Kienvariant
- Keanevariant · English
- Keenevariant
- Keannlikely variant
- Keinvariant
- Keenvariant
- Kienevariant
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Kean
- Kean BryanEnglish association football player (born 1996)
- Kean Nakamura-BertaJapanese and Slovakian racing driver (born 2007)
- Kean CiprianoFilipino actor and musician (born 1987)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
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90% boys · 10% girls
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