2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Keitzer
German surname derived from the trade of making kegs or barrels.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Keitzer. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keitzer 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Keitzer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keitzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.5%) and Black (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keitzer
The surname Keitzer is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first appeared in records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "keitz," which means "sharp" or "pointed," and may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a sharp or angular appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Keitzer can be found in the German town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a family by the name of Keitzer lived in the late 1500s. Some historical documents from this period mention a Johann Keitzer, who was a baker by trade and lived from approximately 1560 to 1620.
By the 17th century, the name had spread to other parts of Germany, with records showing Keitzers living in cities such as Frankfurt and Munich. One notable figure from this time was Hans Keitzer, a woodcarver born in Nuremberg in 1625, who was renowned for his intricate and detailed craftsmanship.
As the Keitzer family continued to grow and spread throughout Germany, some members adopted variations of the name, such as Keiser and Keytzer. In the late 18th century, a branch of the family settled in the town of Eisenach, where a man named Johann Friedrich Keitzer, born in 1775, became a respected clockmaker and watchmaker.
During the 19th century, several Keitzers made their mark in various fields. Friedrich Wilhelm Keitzer, born in 1810 in Berlin, was a prominent architect who designed several notable buildings in the city. Meanwhile, Karl Keitzer, born in 1835 in Hanover, was a renowned botanist and professor at the University of Leipzig.
As German immigration to other parts of the world increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Keitzer name began to appear in new locations. One such example is Gustav Keitzer, who was born in Hamburg in 1880 and later emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City, where he worked as a tailor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keitzer
Among Census respondents with the surname Keitzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.5%) and Black (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Keitzer 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 Keitzer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 91
- Two or more races9.5% · 10
- Black or African American2.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keitzer
Keitzer appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-7 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,736 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 5,736 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 Keitzer 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 | #147,253 | #152,989 | -3.9% |
| Count | 112 | 105 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keitzer bearers went from 112 to 105 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 5,736 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #152,989.
FAQ
Keitzer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keitzer?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Keitzer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Keitzer?
Keitzer ranks #152,989 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 105 people with the surname Keitzer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Keitzer.
Has Keitzer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keitzer went from 112 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Keitzer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keitzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.5%) and Black (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 Keitzer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keitzer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Two or More Races (9.5%), Black (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 Keitzer (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 Keitzer mean?
German surname derived from the trade of making kegs or barrels. 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 Keitzer (0.04 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 Keitzer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.