The Kiser surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 18,674 people carried this name — #1,934 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,800 people counted. That is up 6% from 17,693 in 2000.

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In Switzerland’s population statistics

758 people named Kiser live in Switzerland.

They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Obwalden.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Obwalden 384
Lucerne 129
Zurich 56
Nidwalden 34
Bern 30
Aargau 26
Zug 15
Basel-Landschaft 15

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Poland’s population register

81 people named Kiser have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 110 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 4 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.

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

Where they live today

Silesian 44
Lower Silesian 15
Masovian 12
Greater Poland 10

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

In Argentina’s national register

At least 24 people named Kiser live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in La Pampa.

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

Where they live today

La Pampa 14
Buenos Aires Province 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, Kiser was counted together with Keyser: 129 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 712 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Keyser, Kaiser, Kaisor, Kayser, Keiser, Keisser, Keysar, Kiaser, Kiesser, Kioser, Kisear, Kiser, Kisor, Kizer, Kizier, Kizor, Kysar, Kyser, Kysor, Kyzer. 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 83
New York 22
Virginia 11
Maryland 4
South Carolina 4
North Carolina 3
Maine 1
New Hampshire 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

Kiser in American newspapers,
1908–1919.

Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Kiser
The Washington Times 1919-06-06
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Kiser
New-york Tribune 1915-02-21
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Kiser
The Washington Times 1908-05-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 63,432 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kiser in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1950s.

57 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kiser. The most, 13, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 20
New South Wales 10
Victoria 10
South Australia 6
Western Australia 6
Tasmania 4

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

Who carried it

People named Kiser,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John William Kiser
    John William Kiser 1857–1916 · businessperson
  • Samuel E. Kiser
    Samuel E. Kiser 1862–1942 · writer
  • Earl Kiser
    Earl Kiser 1875–1936 · sport cyclist
  • Donald J. Kiser 1876–1945 · jurist
  • Sherman L. Kiser 1889–1974 · military personnel
  • Emma Jean Kiser 1925–2004 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kiser,
in the records of 6 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 States1,049 records

1,049 records of the Kiser name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 717
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 192
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 47
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 40
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 25
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 17
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Leon Emmanuel Kiser

    Born 1941; from Augusta, Georgia. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1970 in Phu Bon, South Vietnam. Buried at Mobile National Cemetery, Alabama.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Delbert Kiser

    Born 1921 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1942 at Cleveland, Ohio; machinist from Cuyahoga County, Ohio. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1944, buried at Ab Gold Ksiser Cemetery, Olive Hill, Kentucky.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1907 aboard the Pretoria from Hamburg, aged 16; tailor. From Iwonicy, Russia; bound for New York. Born in Zraoluica, Russia.

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

Showing 3 of 1,049 records for Kiser 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada14 records

14 records of the Kiser name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Peter Kiser

    Married 1874 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Hannah Kiser

    Married 1884 in Canning, Kings, Nova Scotia.

    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 Beula Evaline Kiser

    Born 1917 in Lower Rose Bay, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 14 records for Kiser 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: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Germany9 records

9 records of the Kiser 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 Anton Kiser

    From Vogach, B.-A. Fürstenfeldbruck. Reported wounded in one of the first Bavarian casualty lists of 1914 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 15).

    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 Franz Kiser

    From Vogach, Oberb. Reported missing in the Bavarian casualty list of 17 August 1918; then reported wounded in the list of 6 November 1918.

    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 Innozenz Kiser

    From Boign, Oberb. Reported wounded in the Bavarian casualty list of 5 June 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 9 records for Kiser 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).

France3 records

3 records of the Kiser name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Denise Emilie Kiser

    Born 1930 in Saint-Louis; died 1996 in Lutterbach (Haut-Rhin).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Roberteugene Kiser

    Born 1928 in Saint-Louis; died 1990 in Saint-Louis (Haut-Rhin).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marguerite Marie Kiser

    Born 1925 in Illzach; died 1996 in Kingersheim (Haut-Rhin).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Kiser name in Australia Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Kiser

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Kitty Simpson, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Kiser name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Berbera Kiser

    Baptised in 1729 in Bergen op Zoom.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (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 Kiser.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kiser 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 Kiser volume
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