Parent’s name

Kane surname meaning

A multi-origin surname including Irish Ó/Mac Catháin, English Cane, Jewish Kahane, and other regional forms.

Confidence: Disputed
US frequency: Rank 684 · 48,826 people
Common variants: O'Kane, Keane, Cane, Kahn

Confidence: Disputed. More than one origin is plausible, or sources disagree. We show the conflict rather than pick a cute answer.

The short story

Kane has no single universal origin. Irish and Scottish families may use it as an anglicized form of Ó Catháin or Mac Catháin, a descendant-name from the personal name Cathán. English Cane, Jewish Kahane or Kanne, German Köhn, Finnish forms, and West African clan names can produce the same spelling independently. Keane and O’Kane are useful comparisons but do not prove one lineage. Parent’s name is the catalog lead for the Gaelic route, with disputed confidence because the competing regional histories are substantial.

Also seen as: O'Kane, Keane, Cane, Kahn

Sources used

Ancestry, Dictionary of American Family Names entry 'Kane' (Irish, Scottish, Jewish, German, Finnish, and West African routes)
Wikipedia 'Kane (surname)' (multiple regional origins)
Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)