2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Keethler
A surname of uncertain origin, potentially derived from a German or English place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 110 Americans carry the last name Keethler. That puts it at #156,540 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,115,949 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keethler 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
110
1 in 3,115,949
Census rank
#156,540
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
96
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 96 bearers of the surname Keethler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156540th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keethler, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.5%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keethler
The surname Keethler is believed to have originated in Germany. It likely emerged in the 15th or 16th century from the German word "keitel," meaning "small kettle" or "cauldron." This suggests the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked with small kettles or cauldrons, such as a tinsmith or metalworker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Keethler can be found in the town records of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a well-preserved medieval town in Bavaria, Germany. These records mention a Johann Keethler, a tinsmith who lived in the town in the late 16th century.
The Keethler name also appears in various church records and parish registers from the 17th and 18th centuries in regions such as Saxony, Thuringia, and Franconia, all located in present-day Germany. These records often provide valuable insights into the lives and occupations of individuals with this surname during those times.
In the 19th century, the name Keethler began to spread beyond Germany as a result of emigration. One notable bearer of this surname was Wilhelm Keethler (1812-1892), a German-born American businessman and brewer who founded the Keethler Brewing Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the mid-1800s.
Another individual of note was Carl Keethler (1867-1941), a German-American architect and engineer who designed several significant buildings in Chicago, Illinois, including the Edgewater Beach Hotel and the Uptown Theater.
Other individuals with the Keethler surname include Johannes Keethler (1632-1701), a German Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Wittenberg, and Friedrich Keethler (1789-1855), a Prussian military officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.
It is worth noting that the spelling of the surname has varied over time, with alternative forms such as Keetler, Kettler, and Keittler also appearing in historical records. Additionally, the name may have derived from various place names or locations within Germany that contained the word "keitel" or a similar variation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keethler
Among Census respondents with the surname Keethler, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.5%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Keethler 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 Keethler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.3% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino11.5% · 11
- Two or more races5.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keethler
Keethler 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-3 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 13,524 places
2020
#156,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 96
-6 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 1,892 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | -3 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 13,524 places |
| 2020 | #156,540 | 96 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.9%) | Up 1,892 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 Keethler 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 | #158,432 | #156,540 | 1.2% |
| Count | 102 | 96 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keethler bearers went from 102 to 96 (-5.9% change). The surname moved up 1,892 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #156,540.
FAQ
Keethler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keethler?
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the surname Keethler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,115,949 residents.
How common is Keethler?
Keethler ranks #156,540 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 96 people with the surname Keethler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (110), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Keethler.
Has Keethler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keethler went from 102 recorded bearers to 96. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #156,540.
What does the Census say about the background of Keethler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keethler, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.5%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Keethler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.3% (80 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keethler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.3%), Hispanic (11.5%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Keethler (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 Keethler mean?
A surname of uncertain origin, potentially derived from a German or English place name. 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 Keethler (0.03 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 share the surname Keethler?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.