Explore the Family Name Keifer

The meaning of Keifer

1. Altered form of German Kiefer. 2. German: nickname for someone who was quarrelsome, from an agent of Middle High German kīben, kīven ‘to quarrel’, German keifen.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Keifer has slightly fallen over a decade. In 2000, it was ranked as the 11,538th most common surname in the United States, but by 2010, it had dropped to the 13,230th position, representing a decline of approximately 14.66%. The number of people carrying the Keifer surname also decreased from 2,499 in 2000 to 2,309 in 2010, a drop of about 7.6%. Consequently, the proportion of Keifers per 100,000 people in the U.S. population decreased by around 16.13%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#11,538	#13,230	-14.66%
Count	2,499	2,309	-7.6%
Proportion per 100k	0.93	0.78	-16.13%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Keifer

The Decennial U.S. Census data for the ethnic identity associated with the surname Keifer shows some interesting shifts between 2000 and 2010. The largest group identifying as Keifers remained those of White ethnicity, although this proportion declined slightly from 96.64% in 2000 to 93.33% in 2010. During the same period, there were notable increases in the number of Keifers identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (from 0.4% to 1%), Hispanic (from 1.12% to 2.6%), and those reporting two or more races (from 0.84% to 1.65%). The percentages of Keifers who identify as Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native also saw marginal increases. It's important to note that these changes reflect larger demographic trends within the United States as a whole.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.64%	93.33%	-3.43%
Hispanic	1.12%	2.6%	132.14%
Two or More Races	0.84%	1.65%	96.43%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.4%	1%	150%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.76%	1%	31.58%
Black	0.24%	0.43%	79.17%