How common is the surname Keen?

18,459 people in the United States had the surname Keen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,726 Americans. It ranked 1,959th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Keen?

Steve Keen, Australian economist, followed by Malcolm Keen.

Where is the surname Keen most common?

Wikidata records people named Keen in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia and 1 other country.

Is the surname Keen getting more or less common?

More common. 17,320 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,459 in 2010, up 6.6%.

The surname Keen

A surname, carried by 18,459 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). Keen is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 18,459 people named Keen in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,726 Americans. That is up 6.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 17,320.

#1,959

rank among US surnames

18,459

people in 2010

6.3

per 100,000 Americans

+6.6%

change since 2000 (was #1,906)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,950	Ricks	18,506	16,684
#1,951	Spicer	18,501	16,688
#1,952	Ordonez	18,498	16,691
#1,953	Chavarria	18,492	16,696
#1,954	Bryson	18,486	16,702
#1,955	Hutton	18,479	16,708
#1,956	Dobbs	18,476	16,711

Who is named Keen

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

90% of people named Keen identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.7% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 90%
Black (not Hispanic) 4.7%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Keens

8 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Steve Keen
Australian economist, born 1953
Malcolm Keen
British actor (1887-1970)
Andrew Keen
American journalist, born 1960
Will Keen
British actor, born 1970
Dora Keen
American mountain climber (1871-1963)
Linda Keen
American mathematician, born 1940
Sam Keen
Author, professor, and philosopher, 1931–2025
Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull
British activist, born 1974

Notable Keens come mostly from the United Kingdom (3), the United States (3) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Keen

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

Questions

How common is the surname Keen?: 18,459 people in the United States had the surname Keen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,726 Americans. It ranked 1,959th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Keen?: In the 2010 Census, 90% of people named Keen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.7% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Keen?: Steve Keen, Australian economist, followed by Malcolm Keen.
Where is the surname Keen most common?: Wikidata records people named Keen in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia and 1 other country.
Is the surname Keen getting more or less common?: More common. 17,320 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,459 in 2010, up 6.6%.