Explore the Family Name Kahana

The meaning of Kahana

Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kahane. Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Emanuel, Nachman, Rivka, Zvi, Alter, Aron, Chavie, Dovid, Hershy, Menachem, Pesach, Yigal.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kahana in the United States?

According to the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Kahana saw significant growth in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 46,331 in popularity and rose to a rank of 38,389 in 2010 – an increase of over 17%. The count of people with this surname also grew, with a 33.26% rise from 433 in 2000 to 577 in 2010. This resulted in an increased proportion per 100,000 people from 0.16 to 0.2, indicating a 25.0% growth over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#46,331	#38,389	17.14%
Count	433	577	33.26%
Proportion per 100k	0.16	0.2	25%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kahana

The Decennial U.S. Census also reveals shifts in ethnic identity associated with the surname Kahana. While the majority of individuals with this surname identified as White in both years (72.52% in 2000 and 76.78% in 2010), there were notable changes among other ethnicities. For example, the percentage identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander significantly decreased by 34.06%, from 17.09% in 2000 to 11.27% in 2010. Meanwhile, those identifying with two or more races more than doubled, from 4.39% to 9.36%. The Hispanic population with this surname saw a steep decline, dropping by 66.23% from 4.62% to 1.56%. There was no change for Black, American Indian and Alaskan Native categories, remaining at 0 in both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	72.52%	76.78%	5.87%
Asian/Pacific Islander	17.09%	11.27%	-34.06%
Two or More Races	4.39%	9.36%	113.21%
Hispanic	4.62%	1.56%	-66.23%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%