The Keaton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,723 people carried this name — #3,656 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 30,300 people counted. That is up 17% from 8,333 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Keaton surname

A variant of Caton or Keeton, or a habitational name from Keaton in Ermington, Devon, possibly derived from Welsh cae (“hedge, enclosure”) + Middle English toun (“farmstead, settlement”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Keaton» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

27 families named Keaton, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 148 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 10
New York 6
Virginia 6
Maine 2
Vermont 1
Connecticut 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 248 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Keaton in American newspapers,
1898–1930.

Newspaper page from The Poplar Standard carrying the name Keaton
The Poplar Standard 1930-08-28
Newspaper page from Southwest Washington Labor Press carrying the name Keaton
Southwest Washington Labor Press 1923-10-26
Newspaper page from The Wichita Daily Eagle carrying the name Keaton
The Wichita Daily Eagle 1898-10-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 28,107 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Keaton in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

811 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Keaton. The most, 205, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 442
Queensland 109
South Australia 101
Victoria 73
Western Australia 48
Tasmania 20
ACT (Canberra) 9
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Keaton.

Who carried it

People named Keaton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joe Keaton
    Joe Keaton 1867–1946 · actor
  • Myra Keaton
    Myra Keaton 1877–1955 · actor
  • Buster Keaton
    Buster Keaton 1895–1966 · actor
  • Jimmy G. d. 2019 · musician
  • Joseph Talmadge Keaton 1922–2007 · actor
  • Robert Talmadge Keaton 1924–2009

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Keaton,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States547 records

547 records of the Keaton name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 306
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 87
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 82
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 35
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 23
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Verlee Keaton

    Born 1909 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1940 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; baggage porter. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wisconsin.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John Lawrence Keaton

    Born 1946; from Bolivar, Ohio. U.S. Marine Corps, combat engineer; died in an accident 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaret Keaton

    Arrived at New York in 1855 aboard the James Foster Jr. from Liverpool, aged 18; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 547 records for Keaton in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia23 records

23 records of the Keaton name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 8
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 7
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Michael Keaton

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Randolph, arriving 1849; ticket of leave 1849.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Elizabeth Keaton

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Sir Robert Seppings, sailing from Woolwich in 1852. Native of Lancashire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Michl Keaton

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Black Eagle, aged 21; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 23 records for Keaton in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Keaton name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Matthew Keaton

    Listed at West Side Sydney River, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1838.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record John Keaton

    Listed at Dorchester, Sydney, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1827.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Eileen Sands Keaton

    Born 1908 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 6 records for Keaton in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Keaton name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Keaton

    King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Keaton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Keaton is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Keaton volume
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