Keith
Meaning
wood, forest
The story
Keith begins on land, not in a baby-name book. It was a Scottish place and family name tied to an estate in East Lothian, perhaps from a Celtic word for wood, though that meaning is not certain. Centuries later, Keith Haring turned another kind of surface into public territory. He noticed blank black advertising panels in New York subway stations and drew on them in white chalk, making quick radiant figures where commuters could encounter art without entering a gallery. The drawings brought arrests as well as recognition. Haring later used his work and foundation to support AIDS organizations and children's programs, keeping public purpose close to public style. His life did not create the name Keith, and it does not define everyone who bears it. It gives an old Scottish surname a vivid modern scene: a hand, a piece of chalk, a dark panel, and art offered to whoever happened to pass.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Keith peaked in the 1950s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,628 people · the #5,914 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 125,000 · median age 32
Among people named Keith living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 33 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Keith
People given the name Keith in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Keith deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Keith truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Keith fits with your family’s names and surname.
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