Keo
A name of Thai origin meaning "jewel" or "gem".
Name Census estimates that about 285 living Americans carry the first name Keo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Keo today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keo births was 2023 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keo. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Keo with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
285
~ 1 in 1,202,647 Americans
Peak year
2023
19 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,637
Tracked since 1978
Census
Keo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,171 people with the first name Keo, which placed it at #11,101 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,101
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,171 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
74.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 74.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.8%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Keo described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Keo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander74.9% · 877
- White8.8% · 103
- Two or more races6.1% · 72
- Black or African American5.6% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 8
Popularity
Keo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keo from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 95 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Keo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keo 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 Keo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Keo
The name Keo has its origins in Southeast Asia, particularly in the regions of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It is believed to have derived from the ancient Khmer language, which was spoken in the powerful Khmer Empire that dominated the region from the 9th to the 15th century.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Keo can be found in the Khmer inscriptions from the Angkor period, which spanned from the 9th to the 15th century. These inscriptions were carved onto stone temples and monuments, and they often contained the names of rulers, nobles, and other important figures.
In the ancient Khmer language, the name Keo is thought to have meant "precious" or "valuable," possibly referring to the gemstones and precious metals that were highly prized in the region. It may have been used as a name to convey a sense of importance or value to the person bearing it.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Keo. One of the earliest known was Keo Kulok, a Khmer prince who lived during the 13th century and was a prominent figure in the Khmer court.
Another notable Keo was Keo Aram, a Khmer military commander who lived in the 16th century and played a pivotal role in defending the Khmer Empire against invading forces from neighboring kingdoms.
In the 19th century, there was Keo Nivong, a Khmer scholar and poet who was renowned for his contributions to the preservation of Khmer literature and culture.
Moving into the 20th century, Keo Samdech was a Cambodian politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Cambodia from 1955 to 1956.
More recently, Keo Sokngon was a Cambodian artist and sculptor who was active in the late 20th century and was known for his intricate wood carvings depicting scenes from Khmer mythology and history.
While the name Keo has its roots in ancient Southeast Asian cultures, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through migration and cultural exchange. However, its historical significance and connection to the rich cultural heritage of the Khmer people remain an integral part of its meaning and legacy.
People
Keo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keo 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
Keo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 285 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keo 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 1,202,647 US residents.
Is Keo a common name?
We classify Keo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 290 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keo most popular?
The single biggest year for Keo was 2023, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keo is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,171 people with the name Keo, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,101 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Keo in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Keo?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Keo on both sides of the split. Of the 1,172 people counted with this name, 635 were male (54.2%) and 537 were female (45.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Keo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 74.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.8%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Keo most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Keo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.9% (877 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Keo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keo 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.
Is Keo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keo in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Keo can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Keo as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Keo, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.