Explore the Family Name Keesee

The meaning of Keesee

Presumably an American shortened and altered form of French Lacaze. Alternatively, perhaps an Americanized form of German Keese or Giese (compare Geesey). Compare Kazee, Kissee, Kizzee, and Kizzie.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Keesee in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Keesee has slightly decreased in rank between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it had a rank of 9362 which slipped to 9636 in 2010, signifying a decline of 2.93%. However, in terms of count, the number of people with the Keesee surname rose from 3193 in 2000 to 3368 in 2010, showing an increase of 5.48%. The proportion per 100,000 people also saw a minor decrease from 1.18 in 2000 to 1.14 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#9,362	#9,636	-2.93%
Count	3,193	3,368	5.48%
Proportion per 100k	1.18	1.14	-3.39%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Keesee

The ethnicity data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the Keesee surname from 2000 to 2010. The largest group remained those identifying as White, although their percentage decreased from 85.44% to 82.45%. Those identifying as Black increased their representation from 10.93% to 12.05%. There was also a significant rise in the percentage of individuals claiming two or more races (from 1.44% to 2.17%) and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities (from 0.60% to 1.25%). Conversely, the Asian/Pacific Islander category saw a slight drop from 0.34% to 0.30%. The Hispanic representation within this surname also grew from 1.25% to 1.78%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	85.44%	82.45%	-3.5%
Black	10.93%	12.05%	10.25%
Two or More Races	1.44%	2.17%	50.69%
Hispanic	1.25%	1.78%	42.4%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.6%	1.25%	108.33%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.34%	0.3%	-11.76%