The Keister surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,560 people carried this name — #7,317 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 64,500 people counted. That is up 19% from 3,824 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

In Poland’s population register

69 people named Keister have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 93 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 3 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Pomeranian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Pomeranian 56
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 8
Łódź 5

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In print

Keister in American newspapers,
1901–1922.

Newspaper page from Great Falls Tribune carrying the name Keister
Great Falls Tribune 1921-03-16
Newspaper page from Savannah Courier carrying the name Keister
Savannah Courier 1901-05-10
Newspaper page from The Bozeman Courier carrying the name Keister
The Bozeman Courier 1922-11-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 23,582 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Keister,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Abraham Lincoln Keister
    Abraham Lincoln Keister 1852–1917 · lawyer
  • Bill Keister
    Bill Keister 1871–1924 · baseball player
  • Guy Cameron Keister 1881–1973 · farmer
  • Roy Keister 1886–1983 · painter
  • William Keister 1907–1997 · electrical engineer
  • Benny Keister 1941–2024 · teacher

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 Keister,
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 States271 records

271 records of the Keister name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 166
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 49
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 19
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 13
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 13
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • 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 George W. Keister

    Born 1912 in Maryland. Enlisted 1944 at Baltimore; power station operator from Baltimore City. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1983, buried at Crownsville Veterans Cemetery, Maryland.

    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 David Earl Keister

    Born 1948; from Reynoldsburg, Ohio. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Gia Dinh, 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 Henry Keister

    Arrived at New York in 1854 aboard the General Jacob from Bremen, aged 16; farmer. From Abenninghausen, Germany; bound for Ohio.

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

Showing 3 of 271 records for Keister 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) · 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Germany12 records

12 records of the Keister name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Franz Keister

    From Hoch Stüblau, Pr.-Stargard. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 26 September 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 343).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hermann Keister

    From Lenschow. Listed as returned from captivity in the Prussian casualty list of 23 July 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Leonhard Keister

    From Riewalde, Stargard. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 30 July 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 12 records for Keister in Germany.

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

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Keister name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jean Keister

    Died 1813 in Maastricht, aged 24.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Keister.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Keister 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 Keister volume
Scroll to Top