2000
#2,027
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,392
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.08
Uncommon Last name
Keating
Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Céatfhadha, meaning "descendant of Céatfhadh," an old Irish personal name of uncertain derivation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,600 Americans carry the last name Keating. That puts it at #2,188 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,428 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keating surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Keating with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,428
Census rank
#2,188
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,220 bearers of the surname Keating in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2188th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keating, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keating
Among Census respondents with the surname Keating, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Keating bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Keating surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 14,889
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 499
- Two or more races2.6% · 428
- Black or African American1.2% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 151
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 57
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keating
Keating appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,121
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,060
+668 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 5.78
Rank movement Down 94 places
2020
#2,188
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,220
-840 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 5.43
Rank movement Down 67 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,027 | 16,392 | 6.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,121 | 17,060 | 5.78 | +668 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 94 places |
| 2020 | #2,188 | 16,220 | 5.43 | -840 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 67 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Keating surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,121 | #2,188 | -3.2% |
| Count | 17,060 | 16,220 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 5.78 | 5.43 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keating bearers went from 17,060 to 16,220 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 67 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,121 to #2,188.
FAQ
Keating surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keating?
Name Census estimates that about 18,600 living Americans carry the surname Keating. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,428 residents.
How common is Keating?
Keating ranks #2,188 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.43 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,220 people with the surname Keating. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,600), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.43 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Keating.
Has Keating become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keating went from 17,060 recorded bearers to 16,220. That is a decrease of 840 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,121 to #2,188.
What does the Census say about the background of Keating?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keating, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Keating in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (14,889 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keating appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Keating (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Keating mean?
Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Céatfhadha, meaning "descendant of Céatfhadh," an old Irish personal name of uncertain derivation. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Keating (5.43 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Keating?
If you just want to know how common the surname Keating is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.