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The kan Surname

kan Name Meaning and History

  1. Chinese : spelling variant of Jian.
  2. Chinese : from the name of a place called Kan which existed during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc) in the state of Lu, in present-day Shandong province. Some residents adopted the place name as their surname.
  3. Chinese : variant of Gan 1.
  4. Czech (Kán): from kanit meaning ‘to slobber or slaver’ and by extension ‘to gossip’, hence a nickname for a gossip.
  5. Czech: nickname from káne ‘buzzard’.
  6. German: derivative of the personal name Konrad.
  7. Jewish (Ashkenazic): one of the many forms of Cohen.
  8. Dutch: from Middle Dutch kan(ne), can(ne) ‘tankard’, ‘flagon’, ‘pitcher’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such vessels: a potter or a pewterer.
  9. Reduced form of Dutch van de Kan: habitational name for someone from De Kan in Veurne or a place called Kanne.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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The kan name in History

A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the kan family name as far back in history as possible.

kan Family Facts

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Distribution of kan Families in the US in 1920
Number of kan families
 25-47
 9-24
 1-8
 0
Compiled by Ancestry.com from the 1920 US Federal Census records

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Year

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  • You can decide where (in which states) to start searching for kan records.
  • You can see how kan families moved over time by selecting different Census years.

What do I do next?

The information for this map came from Ancestry.com’s US Federal Census Collection.
  • Census records can tell you little-known facts about your ancestors such as birthplace, residence and occupation.
  • Click here to search kan census records.

More resources for your kan family history

Kan message board


Threads: 6 - Messages: 13
ThreadAuthorReplies
KAN Lana Ashlee 1967 1998 t42Hilltop_DalCoTX 0
KAN Brandon R 1970 2003 In our hearts forever t42Hilltop_DalCoTX 0
nola kann barry_lucas22 0
KAN_E_S_1901-1930.JPG t42Moore 0
Sims family search 1947wolfe 1
Family name of Kreutzer and Lauber 1947wolfe 6
Viewing 1-6 of 6 |  Go to the full board

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