Boy · Brittonic, through Scots
Keith
Say it: KEETH
Meaning
From a Scottish place name and surname, probably from a Brittonic word for 'wood' (Welsh coed).
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
The surname of a Scottish noble family, it became a popular given name in Britain and America from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1960s
In the United States
- 438,249 babies given this name since 1888
- At its height in 1966, about 1 in 154 boys
- 456 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
Famous bearers
- Keith Richards, English guitarist
- Keith Haring, American artist
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.