2000
#12,726
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,228
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Keels
Derived from Middle English meaning a ship's keel, likely referring to a shipbuilder or sailor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,454 Americans carry the last name Keels. That puts it at #13,571 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,672 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keels 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
2.5K
1 in 139,672
Census rank
#13,571
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,140 bearers of the surname Keels in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13571st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keels, the largest self-reported group is Black at 58.7%. The next largest groups are White (28.9%) and Two or More Races (7.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keels
The surname Keels is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "ciele" or "ceole," meaning a ship or a small vessel. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as an occupational surname to someone who worked on ships or boats, such as a shipbuilder or a sailor.
The name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a person named "Ceolmund de Ceoles," which could be translated as "Ceolmund of the Keels" or "Ceolmund the Shipbuilder."
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Keels was Sir John Keels, who lived in the 13th century and was a prominent landowner in Lincolnshire, England. Another notable figure was William Keels, a merchant and ship owner from Bristol, who was active in the late 15th century and is mentioned in various trade records of that time.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various parish records and tax rolls across different parts of England, particularly in the coastal regions. For instance, a Robert Keels was listed as a resident of the town of Rye in East Sussex in 1549, suggesting a connection to maritime activities in that area.
Several variations of the spelling can be found throughout history, such as Keeles, Keyles, and Keles. The name is also associated with place names like Keeleshill in Shropshire and Keelby in Lincolnshire, which may have influenced the development of the surname in those regions.
Notable individuals with the surname Keels include:
1. Sir Thomas Keels (c. 1570-1639), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1628.
2. John Keels (1627-1700), an English navigator and explorer who is credited with being the first European to land on the island of Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) in 1658.
3. William Keels (1794-1872), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal College of Surgeons.
4. Mary Keels (1875-1959), an American educator and civil rights activist who worked to establish schools for African American children in the southern United States.
5. James Keels (1934-2019), an American actor and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and television shows throughout his career.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keels
Among Census respondents with the surname Keels, the largest self-reported group is Black at 58.7%. The next largest groups are White (28.9%) and Two or More Races (7.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Keels 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 Keels surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.7% · 1,257
- White28.9% · 619
- Two or more races7.4% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 86
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keels
Keels 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
#11,138
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,843
+615 bearers (+27.6%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Up 1,588 places
2020
#13,571
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,140
-703 bearers (-24.7%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 2,433 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,726 | 2,228 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,138 | 2,843 | 0.96 | +615 bearers (+27.6%) | Up 1,588 places |
| 2020 | #13,571 | 2,140 | 0.72 | -703 bearers (-24.7%) | Down 2,433 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 Keels 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 | #11,138 | #13,571 | -21.8% |
| Count | 2,843 | 2,140 | -24.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.96 | 0.72 | -25.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keels bearers went from 2,843 to 2,140 (-24.7% change). The surname moved down 2,433 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,138 to #13,571.
FAQ
Keels surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keels?
Name Census estimates that about 2,454 living Americans carry the surname Keels. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,672 residents.
How common is Keels?
Keels ranks #13,571 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,140 people with the surname Keels. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,454), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Keels.
Has Keels become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keels went from 2,843 recorded bearers to 2,140. That is a decrease of 703 (-24.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,138 to #13,571.
What does the Census say about the background of Keels?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keels, the largest self-reported group is Black at 58.7%. The next largest groups are White (28.9%) and Two or More Races (7.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Keels in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.7% (1,257 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keels appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (58.7%), White (28.9%), Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Keels (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 Keels mean?
Derived from Middle English meaning a ship's keel, likely referring to a shipbuilder or sailor. 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 Keels (0.72 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 Americans have the surname Keels?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.