ninan.org

Keith

Boys' name · Mid-century

Living in the US
~346,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#800 among boys
Births in 2025
311 440,123 since 1880
Typical age
56 years, median

Keith popularity over time

Keith rank by birth year, 1888–2025Keith ranked #917 in 1888 and #800 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #32, in 1966.#100#1,000#800best #32 in 196618901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1888–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1957: 12,483 births recorded as Keith. 1888 is the earliest year with at least five recorded births. Keith has spent 46 years inside the national top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #800, with 311 births that year. The ten-year change is -57%. Year on year the rank dropped by 44.

Babies named Keith per yearPeaks at 12,483 births in 1957.12,483 in 1957018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Keith?

An estimated 346,100 living Americans are called Keith. That is out of 440,123 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Keith?

Median age among living Keiths: 56. More of them were born in the 1960s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Keith a mid-century name.

Your Keith

Ages of living people named KeithHalf of living Keiths are older than 56 and half younger.median 56020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Keith is most common

The name is concentrated in Louisiana, at 2.4× the national rate. Missouri, Maryland and Arkansas follow.

Where Keith is used more than average5 states use the name Keith more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: 1.9× the national rateMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: 1.7× the national rateMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: 1.7× the national rateARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: 1.7× the national rateOKLouisiana: 2.4× the national rateLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Keith is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Louisiana 129 2.4×
Missouri 135 1.9×
Maryland 111 1.7×
Arkansas 56 1.7×
Oklahoma 77 1.7×

Keith in England and Wales

ONS recorded 3 births named Keith in 2025, ranking it #5,137. That is 40% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Keith comes from

As a Scottish surname, from the placename in Moray, Scotland, from Scottish Gaelic Cèith, meaning "wood" or "from the battleground," which is probably borrowed from *ᚉᚓᚈ meaning "wood", or a forest, from Proto-Brythonic *koɨd. As a German surname, from Middle High German kit (“sprout, offspring”); compare Middle High German kint.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Keith

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Keith Richards British musician, guitarist of the Rolling Stones 1943 86
Keith Haring American artist and social activist 1958–1990 59
Keith Jarrett American jazz/classical pianist and composer 1945 45
Keith Emerson British recording artist; keyboard player and composer 1944–2016 44
Keith Moon English rock musician, drummer of The Who 1946–1978 43
Keith Flint British singer and musician 1969–2019 43
Keith David American actor 1956 40
Keith Carradine American actor and singer 1949 37
Photo credits (8)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/keith.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).