2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Keester
A comical surname referring to the buttocks or posterior region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Keester. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keester 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Keester in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keester, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keester
The surname KEESTER is believed to have originated in Germany, with roots dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Kuste," which means "coast" or "shore." This suggests that the name was initially associated with individuals who lived near coastal regions or worked in maritime industries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the KEESTER name can be found in the records of the town of Lübeck, located in northern Germany. In a document dated 1587, a merchant named Hans KEESTER is mentioned as having traded goods with merchants from the Netherlands and Scandinavia.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the KEESTER surname began to spread beyond Germany as families migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. In 1718, a family by the name of KEESTER is recorded as having settled in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which later became part of the state of New York.
Notable individuals with the KEESTER surname include Johann KEESTER (1624-1698), a German theologian and author who wrote extensively on the Protestant Reformation. Another prominent figure was Wilhelm KEESTER (1789-1862), a Prussian military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a respected military strategist.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the KEESTER name is that of Jacob KEESTER (1765-1842), a farmer and landowner from Pennsylvania who fought in the American Revolutionary War. His descendant, Sarah KEESTER (1835-1911), was a prominent educator and advocate for women's education in the late 19th century.
Another notable American with the KEESTER surname was John KEESTER (1877-1956), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Ohio who founded the KEESTER Foundation, which provided funding for numerous educational and cultural initiatives throughout the state.
While the origins of the KEESTER name can be traced back to coastal regions of Germany, it has since spread across the globe, with families bearing this surname found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keester
Among Census respondents with the surname Keester, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Keester 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 Keester surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.2% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 8
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keester
Keester 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-15 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,369 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,879 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 21,369 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 1,879 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 Keester 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 | #143,149 | #145,028 | -1.3% |
| Count | 116 | 116 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keester bearers went from 116 to 116 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 1,879 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #145,028.
FAQ
Keester surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keester?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Keester. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Keester?
Keester ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Keester. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Keester.
Has Keester become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keester went from 116 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Keester?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keester, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Keester in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keester appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.2%), Hispanic (6.9%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Keester (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 Keester mean?
A comical surname referring to the buttocks or posterior region. 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 Keester (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 are called Keester?
See how common the surname Keester is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.