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

Kefer, 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 Kefer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kefer in America

Kefer is the 139228th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kefer surname appeared 120 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kefer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kefer 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 Kefer

The surname KEFER has its origins in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "kefer," which means "beetle" or "insect." This suggests that the name may have been a nickname or occupational name for someone who worked with insects or beetles, possibly in agriculture or forestry.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the KEFER surname can be found in the church records of a small village in Bavaria, where a man named Hans KEFER was listed as a resident in 1542. Another early reference comes from a land registry in Saxony, where a farmer named Johann KEFER was recorded as owning a parcel of land in 1587.

In the 17th century, the KEFER name began to appear in other parts of Germany, including the region of Hesse. Here, a man named Friedrich KEFER was mentioned in a legal document from 1632, indicating that he was involved in a property dispute.

As the centuries progressed, the KEFER surname spread to other German-speaking regions, including Austria and Switzerland. In the 18th century, a notable figure named Johann Baptist KEFER (1725-1796) gained recognition as a respected architect and builder in the city of Freiburg, where he designed several churches and public buildings.

Another individual of note was Heinrich KEFER (1818-1892), a German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the Rhineland region. His extensive collection of plant specimens is still preserved in the museum of natural history in Bonn.

In the 19th century, the KEFER surname began to appear in records outside of Germany, as some members of the family emigrated to other parts of Europe and North America. One such individual was Karl KEFER (1856-1917), a German-American entrepreneur who founded a successful brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

While the KEFER name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to many other countries and regions, with people bearing this surname making their mark in various fields and professions throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kefer

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!