Show ContentsKania History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Kania is Ó Cianain.

Early Origins of the Kania family

The surname Kania was first found in County Fermanagh (Irish: Fear Manach) in the southwestern part of Northern Ireland, Province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Kania family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kania research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1600 and 1659 are included under the topic Early Kania History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kania Spelling Variations

People who were accounted for by scribes and church officials often had their name recorded many different ways because pronunciation was the only guide those scribes and church officials had to go by. This resulted in the problem of one person's name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Kania that are preserved in archival documents are Keenan, O'Keenan and others.

Early Notables of the Kania family

More information is included under the topic Early Kania Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kania Ranking

In the United States, the name Kania is the 13,250th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Kania family

Irish families left their homeland in astonishing numbers during the 19th century in search of a better life. Although individual reasons vary, most of these Irish families suffered from extreme poverty, lack of work opportunities, and exorbitant rents in their homeland. Many decided to travel to Australia or North America in the hopes of finding greater opportunities and land. The Irish immigrants that came to North America initially settled on the East Coast, often in major centers such as Boston or New York. But like the many other cultures to settle in North America, the Irish traveled to almost any region they felt held greater promise; as a result, many Irish with gold fever moved all the way out to the Pacific coast. Others before that time left for land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula, or the Maritimes as United Empire Loyalists, for many Irish did choose to side with the English during the American War of Independence. The earliest wave of Irish migration, however, occurred during the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has revealed many people bearing the Kania name: Bernard, Charles, Denis, Henry, Hugh, James, John, Michael, Patrick, Thomas and William Keenan all arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between 1840 and 1870.



  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/


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