Where Does the Kean Surname Come From?

Kean is best understood together with Keane: both are Irish spellings of one family name.

Local scribes, dialects and emigration all left their mark on how the name was written. Without the “e” of Keane, Kean is a simpler written form of the same name.

Heraldry is personal: arms associated with the Keane surname were borne by specific families, and sharing the name does not mean sharing the blazon. Want more than a summary? See the Kean family name pack.