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Keen
How to Pronounce Keen
Pronounced KEEN /ΛkiΛn/Low
Meaning: Keen works both as the English adjective 'keen,' meaning sharp, eager and quick-witted, and as a surname. As a family name it can descend from that word or from the Irish surname O Cathain, anglicized as Keane or Keen, so a given-name Keen carries a bright, incisive feel with an Irish surname route also possible.Low
Popularity in the U.S. Β· SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880βpresent). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Keen draws on the English word 'keen,' sharp and eager, and on the surname of the same sound, which can also trace to the Irish O Cathain by way of Keane. Used as a first name it is a modern, word-name choice, crisp and single-syllabled, and we note both the English-word and Irish-surname routes.
Keen appeared as a given name in the United States from about 1998, peaking around 2011 at only about fifteen boys a year. A boy named Keen at that peak would be in his mid-teens today, placing it among recent one-syllable word-names.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Keen mean?
It comes from the English word and surname 'keen,' meaning 'sharp, eager, quick-witted'; it can also trace to the Irish surname O Cathain.
How do you pronounce Keen?
It is said KEEN /ΛkiΛn/ - one syllable.
Is Keen a boy or girl name?
Keen is used here as a boy's name.
How popular is Keen?
It was always rare in the United States as a first name, given to only about fifteen boys a year at its peak in the early twenty-tens.