The Keefer surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,552 people carried this name — #3,713 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 30,900 people counted. That is up 2% from 9,391 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

34 families named Keefer, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 188 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 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

Pennsylvania 19
New York 7
Maryland 5
Maine 1
Virginia 1
North 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

Keefer in American newspapers,
1900.

Newspaper page from The Philipsburg Mail carrying the name Keefer
The Philipsburg Mail 1900-03-09
Newspaper page from Daily Inter Mountain carrying the name Keefer
Daily Inter Mountain 1900-03-09
Newspaper page from Daily Inter Mountain carrying the name Keefer
Daily Inter Mountain 1900-03-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 37,419 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Keefer in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

4,087 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Keefer. The most, 1,079, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 3.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 2,472
Victoria 1,235
Tasmania 210
New South Wales 122
South Australia 30
ACT (Canberra) 9
Western Australia 4
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Keefer,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Keefer
    Thomas Keefer 1821–1915 · engineer
  • Thomas Keefer
    Thomas Keefer 1821–1914 · engineer
  • Samuel Keefer 1811–1890 · civil engineer
  • Elizabeth McKay 1830–1870
  • George Alexander Keefer 1836–1912
  • William Henry Keefer 1841–1934

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 Keefer,
in the records of 5 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 States783 records

783 records of the Keefer name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 364
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 144
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 122
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 57
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 51
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 40
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Earl R. Keefer

    Born 1926 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1944 at Harrisburg; machine shop worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Littlestown, Pennsylvania.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Johannes Keefer

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Neckar from Bremen, aged 26; laborer. From Waiblingen, Germany; bound for Cincinnati.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Kenneth Ray Keefer

    Born 1947; from Streetsboro, Ohio. U.S. Marine Corps, assaultman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 783 records for Keefer in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia99 records

99 records of the Keefer name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 39
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 36
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 13
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 11
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Keefer

    Died 1912 in Swansea, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1912.

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

    Arrived in Queensland in 1884 aboard the Duke of Westminster, aged 2.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Gottfried Keefer

    Naturalised in Tasmania in 1865; farmer of Swansea, born in Wurtemburg, Germany.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 99 records for Keefer in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Germany22 records

22 records of the Keefer name in Germany
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 21
  • German applications to settle and marry 1
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Friedrich Keefer

    From Beutelsbach, Schorndorf. Reported wounded in the Württemberg casualty list of 28 April 1916 (Grenadier Regiment No. 123).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Keefer

    Named in an application to settle and marry in 1801.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Wilhelm Keefer

    From Gundelsbach. Reported dead in the Württemberg casualty list of 4 May 1915 (Infantry Regiment No. 121).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 22 records for Keefer in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) · Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Keefer name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Malcolm Keefer

    Buried in 1966 at Lundys Lane Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Charles Allan Keefer

    Died in service in 1941.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Benjamin B. Keefer

    Married 1876 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 6 records for Keefer in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Keefer name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Margaretha Keefer

    In a population register; born 1875 in Frankfurt am Main.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Keefer.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Keefer 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.

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