2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Keblish
An English surname derived from a placename.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Keblish. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keblish 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.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Keblish in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keblish, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.9%) and Hispanic (7.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keblish
The surname KEBLISH finds its origins in the German-speaking regions of central Europe, particularly in the areas that are now modern-day Germany and Austria. The name likely emerged during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
KEBLISH is believed to be derived from the Old German word "keble," which referred to a small valley or ravine. This suggests that the name may have originally been a topographic surname, given to someone who lived near or in a valley or ravine-like area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KEBLISH appears in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a 15th-century German illustrated world history book. The name is mentioned in reference to a landowner in the region of Bavaria, although the exact year is not specified.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name KEBLISH was Hans Keblish, a German merchant and trader who lived in the city of Frankfurt. Historical records from the time indicate that he was involved in the lucrative trade of spices and textiles between Germany and the Low Countries.
Another notable bearer of the KEBLISH surname was Johann Keblish, a German theologian and philosopher who lived in the late 17th century. He was known for his writings on religious ethics and his contributions to the intellectual discourse of the time.
During the 18th century, the KEBLISH name can be found in various records from the region of Saxony, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. One such record mentions a certain Friedrich Keblish, a landowner and local official in the town of Meissen, who was born in 1712 and died in 1789.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the KEBLISH surname was Karl Keblish, a German philosopher and academic who lived from 1820 to 1892. He taught at several universities in Germany and wrote extensively on topics related to metaphysics and ethics.
While the KEBLISH name has its roots in the German-speaking regions of central Europe, over time it has spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, the historical references and examples provided here focus primarily on the earlier periods when the name first emerged and gained prominence in its region of origin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keblish
Among Census respondents with the surname Keblish, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.9%) and Hispanic (7.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Keblish 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 Keblish surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.0% · 91
- Two or more races9.9% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 8
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keblish
Keblish 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+13 bearers (+12.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,108 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,445 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.9%) | Up 4,108 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 3,445 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 Keblish 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 | #145,220 | #148,665 | -2.4% |
| Count | 114 | 111 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keblish bearers went from 114 to 111 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 3,445 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #148,665.
FAQ
Keblish surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keblish?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Keblish. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Keblish?
Keblish ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Keblish. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Keblish.
Has Keblish become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keblish went from 114 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Keblish?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keblish, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.9%) and Hispanic (7.2%). 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 Keblish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keblish appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.0%), Two or More Races (9.9%), Hispanic (7.2%). 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 Keblish (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 Keblish mean?
An English surname derived from a placename. 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 Keblish (0.04 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 surname Keblish?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.