Kenan Coat of Arms and Surname Origin

It is easy to miss Kenan in an index if you only search for Keenan. Its meaning, shared with Keenan, is “descendant of Cianán, 'ancient'”.

• The Census Bureau's 2010 surname file lists Kenan with 790 bearers, at rank 29,768. That puts it inside the top 50,000 US surnames.
• Other spellings include Keenaghan and Kinnane.
• Kenan drops the “e” of Keenan, a simplification that clerks often made.
• Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists.

Kenan coat of arms

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Kenan, so the heraldry linked to Keenan is a starting point, not an automatic right. Get the complete Kenan report, with a museum-style coat of arms.