Find out how popular the last name Keating is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Keating.

Keating, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Keating surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Keating in America

Keating is the 2121st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Keating surname appeared 17,060 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Keating.

We can also compare 2010 data for Keating to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Keating

The surname Keating is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name "Céadach" or "Céadtach," which means "the first born" or "the first son." This name became anglicized as Keating, Keating, and Keeting. The name is believed to have originated in counties Cork and Kerry in the southern region of Ireland.

The earliest recorded mention of the Keating surname dates back to the 11th century. One of the most notable historical figures bearing this name was Geoffrey Keating, an Irish priest, poet, and historian who lived from 1569 to 1644. He is famous for his comprehensive work, "Foras Feasa ar Éirinn" (The History of Ireland), which chronicled the history of Ireland from ancient times to the 17th century.

Another notable Keating was John Keating, an Irish author and poet born in 1635. He is best known for his work "The Plague at Limerick," which described the devastating effects of the plague that struck Limerick in 1650. Additionally, there was William Keating, an Irish Jesuit who lived from 1612 to 1669 and served as a missionary in Maryland, USA.

In England, the Keating surname can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Henry Keating, who was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273. Another early record is that of Richard Keating, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.

Moving forward in time, we find Edward Keating, an English actor and playwright born in 1758. He was known for his roles in several Shakespearean plays and for his adaptations of works by other authors. In the 19th century, there was Joseph Keating, an English physician and author born in 1824. He wrote several medical textbooks and was a pioneer in the field of pediatric medicine.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Keating

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Keating.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Keating was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Keating has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Keating was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Keating, please contact us.

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