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

Keese, 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 Keese surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Keese in America

Keese is the 11275th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Keese surname appeared 2,802 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Keese.

We can also compare 2010 data for Keese 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 Keese

The surname "KEESE" is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old High German word "chesi," which means "cheese" or "curd." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as an occupational surname to someone involved in the production or trade of cheese.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "KEESE" can be found in the parish records of the town of Meppen, located in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, Germany. In these records, there is a mention of a Johann Keese, who was born in 1587.

As the name spread throughout Germany and neighboring regions, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Kese, Keess, and Keesse. These variations were likely due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping at the time.

In the 17th century, the name "KEESE" appeared in several historical documents in the Netherlands. One notable example is the record of a Willem Keese, a merchant from Amsterdam who was born in 1632. This suggests that the name had spread beyond the borders of Germany and had been adopted by Dutch families as well.

One of the earliest known instances of the name "KEESE" in the English-speaking world can be found in the records of early settlers in the American colonies. In 1683, a Johann Keese, born in 1657 in the town of Zweibrücken, Germany, immigrated to the Dutch settlement of New Netherland (present-day New York). He is believed to be one of the first individuals with this surname to have settled in what would become the United States.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname "KEESE." One such figure was Johann Keese (1698-1772), a German-born composer and organist who worked in the court of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst in the 18th century.

Another notable bearer of the name was William Keese (1795-1868), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1837 to 1841.

In the realm of literature, there was John Keese (1805-1856), an American writer and journalist who founded the popular literary magazine "The Knickerbocker" in 1833.

The name "KEESE" also gained prominence in the military. One example is Major General Charles Keese (1918-2002), a highly decorated United States Army officer who served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Finally, in the field of science, there was John Keese (1919-2008), an American physicist and engineer who made significant contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II and later worked on various aerospace projects for NASA.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Keese

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

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 Keese 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 Keese 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 Keese was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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