Explore the Family Name Kenton

The meaning of Kenton

English: habitational name from any of various places so named, for example in Devon, Greater London (formerly Middlesex), Northumberland and Suffolk. All have as the second element Old English tūn ‘farmstead, settlement’. The first element of the place in Devon is a pre-English river name; the place in London is named with the Old English personal name Cēna; the place in Northumberland derives from Old English cyne ‘kingly, royal’ or cyng ‘king’ + tūn; and the place in Suffolk is named either with Cēna or more probably with Old English cyne- ‘royal’.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Kenton has seen a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Kenton ranked 16,625 in terms of popular surnames but dropped to a rank of 18,198 in 2010, showing a decrease of approximately 9.46%. Similarly, the count of people with this surname fell from 1,588 in 2000 to 1,529 in 2010, a drop of around 3.72%. The proportion of individuals with the surname Kenton per 100,000 also decreased by about 11.86% during the same period.

20002010Change
Rank#16,625#18,198-9.46%
Count1,5881,529-3.72%
Proportion per 100k0.590.52-11.86%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kenton

The Ethnicity data from the Decennial U.S. Census indicates a shift in the ethnic identities associated with the Kenton surname from 2000 to 2010. The highest proportion remained within the White ethnicity, although it declined slightly from 72.23% to 69.91%. The Hispanic representation saw an increase, rising from 3.40% to 4.25%. The percentage of people identifying as Black or African American also increased, moving from 13.98% to 14.85%. The American Indian and Alaskan Native category observed a slight decrease from 9.26% to 8.89%. Interestingly, in 2010, new categories appeared: Asian/Pacific Islander and those identifying with two or more races, recorded at 0.39% and 1.70%, respectively. These categories were not recorded in the 2000 census data.

20002010Change
White72.23%69.91%-3.21%
Black13.98%14.85%6.22%
American Indian and Alaskan Native9.26%8.89%-4%
Hispanic3.4%4.25%25%
Two or More Races0%1.7%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0.39%0%