How common is the surname Kahn?

14,584 people in the United States had the surname Kahn in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,170 Americans. It ranked 2,473rd of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Kahn?

In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Kahn identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.3% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

Who is the most famous person named Kahn?

Bob Kahn, American Internet pioneer, computer scientist (born 1938), followed by Madeline Kahn.

Where is the surname Kahn most common?

Wikidata records people named Kahn in the United States, France and South Korea and 1 other country.

Is the surname Kahn getting more or less common?

More common. 14,570 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,584 in 2010, up 0.1%.

The surname Kahn

A German surname, carried by 14,584 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex K500

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Kahn is more common than 98.5% of them.

Origin

German origin

* As a north German surname, from Low German Kane (“small boat”), from Middle Low German kāne, from Old Saxon *kano, from Proto-West Germanic *kanō, from Proto-Germanic *kanô (“vessel, boat”). * Also as a north German surname, from a short form of Kahnert, a variant of Konrad. * Among Jews, a Germanicised form of Cohen.

One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 14,584 people named Kahn in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 21,170 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 14,570.

#2,473

rank among US surnames

14,584

people in 2010

4.9

per 100,000 Americans

+0.1%

change since 2000 (was #2,284)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,464	Meehan	14,630	21,104
#2,465	Dennison	14,629	21,105
#2,466	Knott	14,622	21,115
#2,467	Perales	14,593	21,157
#2,469	Mulligan	14,590	21,161
#2,471	Bliss	14,588	21,164
#2,472	Wakefield	14,587	21,166

Who is named Kahn

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Kahn identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.3% as Asian and Pacific Islander and 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 86%
Asian and Pacific Islander 7.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.0%
Black (not Hispanic) 1.9%
Two or more races 1.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Kahns

21 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Bob Kahn
American Internet pioneer, computer scientist (born 1938)
Madeline Kahn
American actress, singer (1942-1999)
Herman Kahn
American futurist noted for his views on nature of thermonuclear war (1922–1983)
Michael Kahn
American film editor, born 1930
Albert Kahn
Banker, philanthropist, pioneer of photography (1860–1940)
Albert Kahn
American architect (1869–1942)
Joseph Kahn
American film director and music video director, born 1972
David Kahn
American historian, journalist and writer (1930-2024)
Otto Hermann Kahn
American banker (1867–1934)
Irving Kahn
American value investor and money manager, 1905–2015
Roger Kahn
American writer (1927–2020)
Ian Kahn
American actor, born 1972

Notable Kahns come mostly from the United States (18), France (1) and South Korea (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Kahn

Kahn has the Soundex code K500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code K500.

Other German surnames

All 1,101 German surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Kahn come from?: * As a north German surname, from Low German Kane (“small boat”), from Middle Low German kāne, from Old Saxon *kano, from Proto-West Germanic *kanō, from Proto-Germanic *kanô (“vessel, boat”). * Also as a north German surname, from a short form of Kahnert, a variant of Konrad. * Among Jews, a…
How common is the surname Kahn?: 14,584 people in the United States had the surname Kahn in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,170 Americans. It ranked 2,473rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Kahn?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Kahn identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.3% as Asian and Pacific Islander.
Who is the most famous person named Kahn?: Bob Kahn, American Internet pioneer, computer scientist (born 1938), followed by Madeline Kahn.
Where is the surname Kahn most common?: Wikidata records people named Kahn in the United States, France and South Korea and 1 other country.
Is the surname Kahn getting more or less common?: More common. 14,570 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,584 in 2010, up 0.1%.