Keith

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Keys in HU Hungary, PL Poland and Koti in IN India.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Keith is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Hindi given name34K records spelled Keith12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Sinhala

  Also written কিথ, Kith, Kitha, Këith

• Polish given name30K records spelled Keith50 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, United Kingdom, Czechia

  Languages: Polish, Russian, Czech

  Also written Кейт, Kit, Кит, Keit, Cate

72 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Keith is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Location name from East Lothian; recorded as de Keth in 1185. Possibly from Old Gaelic coit “wood”; may also refer to Banffshire Keith (Kethmalruf c.700).

  as a name·Scottish Surnames

• In English, Scottish placename used first as a surname and then as a first name; now fairly popular in Ireland.

  as a name·Irish first names

• A Scottish placename, used first as a surname and then as a first name. It has recently become quite popular with Irish parents.

  as a name·Irish first names

• habitational name from the lands of Keith in East Lothian. In the 17th century numerous bearers of this name settled in Ulster.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, A Scottish surname.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 137 years between 1888–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Gilbert Keith Chestertonb. 1874GBEnglish author and Christian apologist (1874–1936)
• Keith Andesb. 1920USAmerican actor (1920–2005)
• Rupert Murdochb. 1931AUnot in their usual nameAmerican businessman
• David Lynchb. 1946USnot in their usual nameAmerican filmmaker (1946–2025)
• Bobby McFerrinb. 1950USnot in their usual nameAmerican jazz vocalist and composer (born 1950)
• Chris Jerichob. 1970USnot in their usual nameAmerican-Canadian professional wrestler (born 1970)
• Keith Fergusonb. 1972USAmerican voice actor (born 1972)
• Randy Ortonb. 1980USnot in their usual nameAmerican professional wrestler (born 1980)
• Keith Andrewsb. 1980IEIrish footballer
• Liam Hemsworthb. 1990AUnot in their usual nameAustralian actor (born 1990)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 981 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Keith?

We estimate roughly 366 thousand people bear Keith (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Keith have the most bearers?

Keith is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled keith.

Where is Keith most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Keith is densest in Croatia — about 1 in 187 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Keith compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Keith is the 83rd most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Keith a male or female name?

Keith is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Keith mean?

Recorded meaning: person from Keith, Moray, 'place by the wood'.