2000
#1,860
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,763
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.58
Uncommon Last name
Keys
An English occupational surname referring to a person who was a keeper of the keys or a gatekeeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,355 Americans carry the last name Keys. That puts it at #1,894 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,050 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Keys 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Keys with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,050
Census rank
#1,894
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,623 bearers of the surname Keys in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1894th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Keys, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.5%. The next largest groups are Black (42.6%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Keys
The surname Keys is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "caeg," meaning "key." It was likely an occupational name given to locksmiths or keymakers during the medieval period.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Keys dates back to the late 12th century in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire, where one Roger Kaie was listed. Other early spellings include Keye, Kaye, and Kee, reflecting the various dialectal pronunciations.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, with a reference to William Kaye. This document, compiled in 1273, recorded landowners and their holdings, suggesting that the Keys family had already established some wealth and status by that time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John Keys, a prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses during the 15th century. He fought for the House of Lancaster and was knighted for his valor on the battlefield.
The Keys surname also has connections to various place names in England, such as Keysoe in Bedfordshire and Keysworth in Nottinghamshire. These localities likely derived their names from individuals bearing the surname Keys who inhabited or owned land in those areas.
Notable individuals with the surname Keys throughout history include:
1. Thomas Keys (c. 1500-1571), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University.
2. John Keys (1594-1676), a Puritan minister and author who emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century.
3. Francis Keys (1679-1761), an English organist and composer who served as the Master of the Children at Westminster Abbey.
4. Sir Benjamin Keys (1756-1835), a British naval officer who distinguished himself in various battles during the Napoleonic Wars.
5. Alicia Keys (born 1981), an American singer-songwriter and record producer who has won numerous awards, including 15 Grammy Awards.
While the surname Keys has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration, with bearers found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keys
Among Census respondents with the surname Keys, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.5%. The next largest groups are Black (42.6%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Keys 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 Keys surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.5% · 8,653
- Black or African American42.6% · 7,941
- Two or more races5.6% · 1,050
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 668
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 216
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 95
Timeline
Historical Census data for Keys
Keys 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
#1,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,899
+1,136 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 6.41
Rank movement Down 40 places
2020
#1,894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,623
-276 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 6.23
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,860 | 17,763 | 6.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,900 | 18,899 | 6.41 | +1,136 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 40 places |
| 2020 | #1,894 | 18,623 | 6.23 | -276 bearers (-1.5%) | Up 6 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 Keys 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 | #1,900 | #1,894 | 0.3% |
| Count | 18,899 | 18,623 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 6.41 | 6.23 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Keys bearers went from 18,899 to 18,623 (-1.5% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,900 to #1,894.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Keys
FAQ
Keys surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Keys?
Name Census estimates that about 21,355 living Americans carry the surname Keys. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,050 residents.
How common is Keys?
Keys ranks #1,894 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,623 people with the surname Keys. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,355), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Keys.
Has Keys become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Keys went from 18,899 recorded bearers to 18,623. That is a decrease of 276 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,900 to #1,894.
What does the Census say about the background of Keys?
Among Census respondents with the surname Keys, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.5%. The next largest groups are Black (42.6%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Keys in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.5% (8,653 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Keys appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (46.5%), Black (42.6%), Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Keys (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 Keys mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who was a keeper of the keys or a gatekeeper. 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 Keys (6.23 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 have the surname Keys?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.