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

Keh, 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 Keh surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Keh in America

Keh is the 59470th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Keh surname appeared 340 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 Keh.

We can also compare 2010 data for Keh 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 Keh

The surname "KEH" is believed to have originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "keh," meaning "hill" or "ridge." This suggests that the name may have originated as a topographic surname, given to someone who lived near or on a hill.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "KEH" can be found in the town of Heidelberg, where a family with this name resided in the late 1500s. In 1612, a man named Johannes Keh was listed in the town's records as a local merchant.

The name "KEH" also appeared in various historical documents throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, including church records and land deeds. In 1723, a family by the name of Keh settled in the village of Kleinlangheim, located in the region of Franconia.

During the 19th century, the spelling of the name evolved, with variations such as "Kehe" and "Kehn" appearing in different regions of Germany. One notable individual with this surname was Wilhelm Kehe (1837-1911), a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Reichstag (German parliament) from 1884 to 1898.

Another individual of note was Karl Keh (1904-1977), a German-American physicist who made significant contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II. He later worked for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was instrumental in establishing the field of microwave spectroscopy.

In the 20th century, the surname "KEH" spread beyond Germany as individuals emigrated to other parts of the world. For instance, Johann Keh (1892-1976) was a German-born American artist who gained recognition for his landscape paintings and murals, particularly those depicting scenes from the American West.

It is worth mentioning that the name "KEH" has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Kehrig, a town in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Kehmen, a district in the city of Lübeck.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Keh

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

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

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

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