Ken Family History

English: habitational name from either of two places called Kenn in Devon and Avon (Somerset), both of which take their name from the streams on which they stand.

English (of Norman origin): from Anglo-Norman French ken, chen, Old French chien ‘dog’ (from Latin canis), possibly applied as a nickname or as a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept hunting dogs.

In some cases, possibly also an Americanized form of German Kenn.

Scottish: possibly a shortened form of Kenna.