Kieth
Scottish Gaelic form of the Old English name Cæghath, meaning "hedge of battle."
Name Census estimates that about 2,133 living Americans carry the first name Kieth. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kieth today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kieth births was 1964 (88 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kieth. 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
2.1K
~ 1 in 160,691 Americans
Peak year
1964
88 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2010 SSA rank
#10,277
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Kieth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kieth from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 652 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kieth 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 Kieth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kieths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. California, New York, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Kieth, while New Jersey, Minnesota, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kieth
The name Kieth is a variant of the more common English name Keith, which has its origins in Scotland and northern England. It is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name Cái, which means "battle" or "warrior." The earliest known spelling of the name is "Ket," which dates back to the 12th century.
The name Keith is believed to have been introduced to Scotland by the Norman conquerors in the 11th century. It became particularly popular in the Scottish Highlands, where it was used by several prominent clans, including the Clan Keith and the Clan MacKie. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Robert de Keith, a Scottish nobleman who lived in the 12th century and was the progenitor of the Clan Keith.
In the Middle Ages, the name Keith was often associated with military prowess and bravery on the battlefield. Several knights and warriors bearing this name are mentioned in medieval chronicles and records. For example, Sir William Keith, a 14th-century Scottish knight, was renowned for his valor and loyalty to King Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
Over the centuries, the name Kieth has been used by various notable individuals, including Kieth Jarrett (born 1945), an American jazz pianist and composer; Kieth Mitchell (born 1946), an American professional basketball player; and Kieth Lee (born 1983), an English professional wrestler.
Other historical figures bearing the name Kieth or its variants include Kieth Merrill (1925-2021), an American actor and director; Kieth Rendleman (1894-1974), an American politician and lawyer; and Kieth Stroup (1781-1838), an American pioneer and frontiersman.
It is worth noting that while the name Kieth is a variant spelling of Keith, it has been used independently by some individuals and families throughout history. Regardless of the spelling, the name has maintained its connection to its Celtic roots, evoking a sense of strength, courage, and warrior spirit.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Kieth
People
Kieth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kieth 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
Kieth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kieth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,133 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kieth 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 160,691 US residents.
Is Kieth a common name?
We classify Kieth as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,837 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kieth most popular?
The single biggest year for Kieth was 1964, when 88 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kieth is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kieth a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kieth 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.