Keifer
A masculine name of German origin meaning "chalice bearer".
Name Census estimates that about 1,123 living Americans carry the first name Keifer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Keifer today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keifer births was 1991 (131 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keifer. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 305,213 Americans
Peak year
1991
131 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2021 SSA rank
#9,270
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Keifer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keifer from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 668 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keifer by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Keifer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keifers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Texas, California, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Keifer, while Washington, Indiana, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keifer
The name Keifer is a variant spelling of the German name Käfer, which means "beetle" in English. The name originated in the German language and culture during the Middle Ages, around the 12th century. It was initially a descriptive surname given to individuals who may have had some association with beetles or worked with them in some capacity.
In its earliest usage, the name Keifer was likely a nickname or occupational surname for someone involved in activities related to beetles, such as collecting or studying them. It could also have been a descriptive name given to someone whose physical appearance or mannerisms resembled a beetle in some way.
While the name Keifer does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is rooted in the German language and reflects the cultural traditions and naming practices of the Germanic peoples.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Keifer dates back to the 16th century, when a German man named Keifer Bauer was mentioned in a historical document from the city of Nuremberg in 1543. Another early example is Johann Keifer, a German painter and engraver who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Keifer. One example is Johann Keifer (1873-1953), a German-American artist and sculptor known for his works depicting scenes from the American West. Another is Erwin Keifer (1904-1965), a German film actor who appeared in numerous films during the 1930s and 1940s.
In the field of science, there was Wilhelm Keifer (1882-1958), a German botanist and phycologist who made significant contributions to the study of algae. Additionally, Hans Keifer (1892-1976) was a German-American entomologist who specialized in the study of mites and was considered a pioneer in his field.
Finally, one notable figure from more recent history is Robert Keifer (1908-1988), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio between 1947 and 1959.
People
Keifer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keifer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Keifer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keifer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keifer going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 305,213 US residents.
Is Keifer a common name?
We classify Keifer as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,149 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keifer most popular?
The single biggest year for Keifer was 1991, when 131 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keifer is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Keifer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keifer in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.