2000
#11,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,499
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Keifer
A German occupational surname referring to a barrel maker or cooper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,483 Americans carry the last name Keifer. That puts it at #13,447 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,040 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keifer 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
2.5K
1 in 138,040
Census rank
#13,447
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,165 bearers of the surname Keifer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13447th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keifer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keifer
The surname Keifer is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "kuofer," meaning "cooper" or "barrel maker." It emerged in the 13th century in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia, where many families worked as coopers, crafting wooden barrels and casks for storing and transporting goods.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various historical records and documents, such as the Heidelberg Codex, where a certain Hainrich Kuofer was listed as a resident of the city of Augsburg. The name was also found in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a famous illustrated world history book published in 1493, which mentioned a family of coopers with the surname Keifer residing in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
The earliest recorded example of the Keifer surname dates back to 1275, when a certain Heinrich Keifer was mentioned in the Bavarian town of Landshut's municipal records as a master cooper. Another notable figure was Hans Keifer, a renowned cooper from Nürnberg, who was born in 1492 and whose family's coat of arms featured a barrel, symbolizing their profession.
Throughout history, several individuals with the surname Keifer have left their mark. One of the most notable was Johann Keifer (1571-1634), a German Protestant theologian and professor at the University of Tübingen, who wrote extensively on biblical exegesis and church history. Another was Friedrich Keifer (1698-1768), a Bavarian artist known for his intricate woodcarvings and religious sculptures adorning churches across southern Germany.
In the 19th century, a notable figure was Karl Keifer (1809-1877), a German-American businessman and industrialist who founded the Keifer Brewing Company in Philadelphia, one of the largest breweries in the United States at the time. Additionally, Wilhelm Keifer (1845-1912) was a German-born American politician who served as the 19th Governor of Ohio from 1891 to 1893.
The surname Keifer has also been associated with place names, such as the village of Keifersfelden in Bavaria, which likely derived its name from a family of coopers who lived in the area during the Middle Ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keifer
Among Census respondents with the surname Keifer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Keifer 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 Keifer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 1,966
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 88
- Two or more races2.9% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 18
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keifer
Keifer 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
#13,230
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,309
-190 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 1,692 places
2020
#13,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,165
-144 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 217 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,538 | 2,499 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,230 | 2,309 | 0.78 | -190 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 1,692 places |
| 2020 | #13,447 | 2,165 | 0.72 | -144 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 217 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 Keifer 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 | #13,230 | #13,447 | -1.6% |
| Count | 2,309 | 2,165 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.72 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keifer bearers went from 2,309 to 2,165 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 217 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,230 to #13,447.
FAQ
Keifer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keifer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,483 living Americans carry the surname Keifer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,040 residents.
How common is Keifer?
Keifer ranks #13,447 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,165 people with the surname Keifer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,483), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Keifer.
Has Keifer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keifer went from 2,309 recorded bearers to 2,165. That is a decrease of 144 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,230 to #13,447.
What does the Census say about the background of Keifer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keifer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Keifer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (1,966 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keifer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Keifer (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 Keifer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a barrel maker or cooper. 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 Keifer (0.72 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 Americans have the surname Keifer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.