| Kane | Murphy | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Little battle / warrior | Sea-warrior |
| Origin | irish | irish |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Pronunciation | KAYN | MUR-fee |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1953 | 1898 |
| Peak year | 2018 (1,055) | 2025 (783) |
| In 2025 | 695 | 783 |
| Trend | Rising | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Kane | Murphy |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5,099 | 3,123 |
| 2010s | 7,035 | 837 |
| 2000s | 3,674 | 271 |
| 1990s | 2,252 | 337 |
| 1980s | 735 | 35 |
| 1970s | 471 | 0 |
| 1960s | 165 | 0 |
| 1950s | 90 | 0 |
| 1940s | 0 | 5 |
| 1930s | 0 | 28 |
| 1920s | 0 | 9 |
| 1910s | 0 | 33 |
| 1900s | 0 | 5 |
| 1890s | 0 | 5 |
The 'battle/warrior' sense comes from the Irish Ó Catháin, from 'cath' (battle). Flagged: Kane has several unrelated origins - Hawaiian 'man' (and a deity), a weakly attested Welsh 'beautiful', and Japanese readings - so only the Irish line carries the warrior meaning.
From the Irish surname Ó Murchadha, from 'muir' (sea) and 'cath' (battle), giving 'sea-warrior' or 'sea-battler'. One of the most common surnames in Ireland, now used as a given name.
Murphy is more popular than Kane today: about 783 US babies were given the name Murphy in 2025, compared with 695 named Kane.
Kane means Little battle / warrior (irish origin), while Murphy means Sea-warrior (irish origin).
In US records, Kane first appears in 1953 and Murphy in 1898, so Murphy has the longer recorded history.