Given name & surname
Keane
“a warrior”·“one who is sharp”
Keane is a variant of Kean. Interpretations include “a warrior” and “one who is sharp”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Keane is a variant of Kean. Interpretations include “a warrior” and “one who is sharp”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Keane is a variant of Kean. An origin associated with Kean is English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Probably from Irish Ó Catháin (“descendant of Cathán”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Keane through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,486
- 1,486 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2007
- 60 babies
- 2025
- 12
- #7,007 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −40%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 7,007 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 39.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 60 in 2007. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,419 as a first name in 2020; 10,685 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.
Keane’s family of names
In English usage, Keane as a surname has a nickname in KEANO. Keane has a feminine form in Keana. Keane has a related form in Kean.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Keane
- Keane Lewis-PotterEnglish association football player (born 2001)
- Keane BarryIrish darts playerborn 2002
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Keane, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Case
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Cayden
Cayden is a masculine given name.
98% boys · 2% girls