Researching William Kean
Research the background of William Kean using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 2028 people with the Kean surname? In that year Kean was ranked number 1815 for popularity in the UK. |

The name William means "resolute guardian" and is of German origin.
Records of William Kean on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of William Kean in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for William Kean. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for William Kean. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for William Kean. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for William Kean. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for William Kean. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Kean ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Kean Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for William Kean and the Kean Family Tree
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Kean Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Kean family tree.
Look at Parish Records for William Kean at Find My Past.
Search for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of William Kean using the FreeBMD database.
Study Genealogy Bank for William Kean records.
Check out MyHeritage for William Kean information.
Look at the LDS Database for records about William Kean.
Research the Kean surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Kean Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 1818 people with the Kean surname in the UK? Kean is now ranked number 2460 for popularity in the UK. |
Kean Genealogy Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Explore the WikiTree database for user contributed records for William Kean.
Study MyTrees for information on the Kean family and people looking to contact living Kean relations.
Investigate One Great Family for Kean records submitted by people who are already researching the Kean Family Tree.
Find William Kean from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Kean Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Kean surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 6076 people with the Kean surname in the USA? Kean is ranked number 155 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Kean Databases
Study the Ellis Island Database for information on William Kean. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called William Kean
William Kean
William Kean (17 March 1871 – 5 January 1954) was a British trade unionist.
Born in Sheffield, Kean became a cutler working in silver and a trade unionist. By his early twenties he was secretary of the small Sheffield-based Spoon and Fork Filers, Odd Workers and Stampers Society. From this position, he masterminded a merger of several small unions which formed the National Union of Gold, Silver and Allied Trades (NUGSAT), completed in 1911, and became its first secretary.
In 1921, Kean was elected to the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), remaining in place until 1945, and serving as President of the TUC in 1934/1935.
In his spare time, Kean was a magistrate, was active on the Sheffield Trades Council, a founder of Sheffield's Labour Representation Committee, and served on a variety of government committees. In the 1939 New Year Honours, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He finally retired as secretary of NUGSAT in 1953, and died the following year.
Source: William Kean, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Kean
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Kaehn Kahan Kahana Kahane Kahen Kahn Kaighin Kaim Kain Kaine Kamei Kamm Kane Kaney Kania Kann Kanne Kanya Kaun Kaune Kawana Kayne Keam Keane Keaney Keanow Keehan Keehn Keem Keen Keena Keene Keeney Keenoy Kehm Keim Keime Keine Keinow Kem Keme Kemm Kemme Kemmey Ken Kenaway Kenmo Kenmow Kenn Kenna Kennagh Kennaway Kennea Kenneway Kenney Kenny Keno Kenow Kenowa Kenway Keny Keoghan Keoghane Keohane Keon Keoughan Keoun Keown Keune Kewen Kewin Kewn Keym Keyme Keyne Khan Kiehm Kiehn Kiehne Kiene Kienow Kieny Kihm Kihn Kim Kime Kimm Kimme Kimmey Kimmy Kine Kingh Kinn Kinna Kinne Kinney Kinnie Kinny Koehn Koehne Koen Koene Koenn Koeune Kohen Kohn Kohne Kom Kome Kona Konn Kono Koomo Koon Koyme Kuehme Kuehn Kuehnau Kuehne Kuehni Kughn Kuhn Kuhnau Kuhne Kuhney Kumbo Kumm Kumo Kun Kuna Kunau Kuney Kuno Kuohn Kuoni Kwain Kwane Kyme Kyne





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