2000
#14,920
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,820
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Keiper
Derived from a German nickname meaning "fighter," likely referring to a quarrelsome or contentious person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,254 Americans carry the last name Keiper. That puts it at #14,561 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,065 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keiper 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
2.3K
1 in 152,065
Census rank
#14,561
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,966 bearers of the surname Keiper in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14561st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keiper, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keiper
The surname Keiper is of German origin, and it is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria during the Middle Ages. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Keiper," which referred to a maker or seller of wooden barrels, casks, or vats.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Keiper can be found in the Stadtarchiv Nürnberg (Nuremberg City Archives), where a certain Hans Keiper was mentioned as a resident of the city in the 15th century. This suggests that the name was already in use during that time period.
In the 16th century, the surname Keiper appeared in various records and documents across different regions of Germany. For example, a Johann Keiper was recorded as a cooper (barrel maker) in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1532.
During the 17th century, the name Keiper spread to other parts of Europe as a result of migration and trade. In the Netherlands, a notable figure was Pieter Keiper, a merchant and trader who lived in Amsterdam from 1640 to 1702.
The 18th century saw the emergence of several notable individuals with the surname Keiper. One such person was Johann Friedrich Keiper (1720-1795), a German theologian and author who wrote extensively on religious topics.
In the 19th century, the Keiper family established itself in various professions and trades. Johannes Keiper (1815-1887) was a renowned German architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Frankfurt am Main.
As the surname Keiper continued to spread across Europe and beyond, it evolved into different spellings and variations. For instance, in the United States, the name was sometimes spelled as "Keiper," "Kieper," or "Kyper."
Throughout history, several individuals with the surname Keiper have made significant contributions in various fields, such as Gerhard Keiper (1893-1969), a German entrepreneur who founded the Keiper automotive components company, and Wilhelm Keiper (1862-1941), a German educator and writer known for his work on the history of education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keiper
Among Census respondents with the surname Keiper, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Keiper 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 Keiper surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 1,844
- Two or more races3.1% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keiper
Keiper 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
#14,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,070
+250 bearers (+13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 486 places
2020
#14,561
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,966
-104 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 127 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,920 | 1,820 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,434 | 2,070 | 0.70 | +250 bearers (+13.7%) | Up 486 places |
| 2020 | #14,561 | 1,966 | 0.66 | -104 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 127 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 Keiper 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 | #14,434 | #14,561 | -0.9% |
| Count | 2,070 | 1,966 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.66 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keiper bearers went from 2,070 to 1,966 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 127 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,434 to #14,561.
FAQ
Keiper surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keiper?
Name Census estimates that about 2,254 living Americans carry the surname Keiper. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,065 residents.
How common is Keiper?
Keiper ranks #14,561 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,966 people with the surname Keiper. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,254), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Keiper.
Has Keiper become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keiper went from 2,070 recorded bearers to 1,966. That is a decrease of 104 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,434 to #14,561.
What does the Census say about the background of Keiper?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keiper, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Keiper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (1,844 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keiper appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Keiper (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 Keiper mean?
Derived from a German nickname meaning "fighter," likely referring to a quarrelsome or contentious person. 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 Keiper (0.66 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 Keiper?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.