The Keener surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,687 people carried this name — #2,633 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 21,600 people counted. That is up 5% from 13,046 in 2000.

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In print

Keener in American newspapers,
1852–1906.

Newspaper page from The Weekly Iberian carrying the name Keener
The Weekly Iberian 1906-01-27
Newspaper page from The Lake Charles Echo carrying the name Keener
The Lake Charles Echo 1890-01-17
Newspaper page from Eastern Times carrying the name Keener
Eastern Times 1852-05-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Keener in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

702 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Keener. The most, 178, date from the 1940s. 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 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 317
Queensland 117
Victoria 107
South Australia 80
Western Australia 41
Tasmania 32
ACT (Canberra) 5
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Keener,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Christian Keener
    John Christian Keener 1819–1906 · priest
  • William A. Keener
    William A. Keener 1856–1913 · judge
  • Frederick A. Keener 1827–1902
  • Nettie Keener 1870–1957
  • Stephen Keener 1940–2022 · voice actor
  • James Keener 1946–2026 · mathematician

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 Keener,
in the records of 3 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 States766 records

766 records of the Keener name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 459
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 158
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 76
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 37
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 11
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Dorlen Keener

    Born 1919 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1941 at Huntington; miner from Clay County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Nelson Family Cemetery, Clay, West Virginia.

    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 Fletcher M. Keener

    Born 1934; from Baltimore County, Maryland. U.S. Army, light weapons infantry leader; killed in action 1953 in North Korea.

    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 Louis Keener

    Arrived at Baltimore in 1848 aboard the Republic from Bremen, aged 34; shoemaker. From Saxony, Germany.

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

Showing 3 of 766 records for Keener in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia6 records

6 records of the Keener name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  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 Patrick Keener

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Eden, sailing from Plymouth in 1848. Native of Galway.

    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 Louis Keener

    Arrived in Victoria in 1858 aboard the Meteor, aged 21; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elizabeth M. Keener

    Of Cheltenham Home, Victoria; died 1955.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Keener in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Keener name in Canada City of Calgary cemetery records
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Petronella Keener

    Buried in 1978 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 82.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 1 of 3 records for Keener in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Keener.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Keener 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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