Keep Surname

92,778th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 5,149 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Isle of Man

Keep Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the keep,' the donjon or stronghold of a castle.

William atte Kep, Close Rolls, 18 Edward I.

Roger Kep, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirb's Quest.

Richard atte Kippe, Somerset, 1 Edward III: ibid.

Read More About This Surname

Keep Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,8001:30,9544,141
United States1,2731:284,72826,498
Australia8011:33,7024,444
Iran2851:269,41219,820
Canada2621:140,63214,476
Egypt1831:502,38128,715
Netherlands851:198,67327,603
Nigeria661:2,683,98186,518
India631:12,175,641218,299
Wales591:52,4504,823
Colombia421:1,137,4789,713
France261:2,554,720189,486
New Zealand251:181,13319,287
South Africa191:2,851,458109,033
Denmark161:352,79524,706
Scotland151:356,92115,763
Panama121:326,0227,351
United Arab Emirates111:832,93427,512
China91:151,924,6187,954
Malaysia81:3,686,778134,908
Brazil71:30,582,047441,004
Jersey71:14,1722,872
Isle of Man71:12,2602,387
Northern Ireland61:307,50612,899
Kenya51:9,235,98055,978
Thailand51:14,127,669603,945
Germany51:16,101,092397,699
Switzerland51:1,642,58387,307
Guernsey41:16,1101,225
Singapore41:1,376,92628,409
Pakistan31:59,547,962132,569
Mexico21:62,063,10283,384
Hong Kong21:3,667,74211,574
Taiwan21:11,722,37363,559
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
Costa Rica21:2,390,03410,205
Vietnam11:92,646,0548,382
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Ukraine11:45,522,696503,646
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Tunisia11:610,62630,336
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland21:2,214,93333,683
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,0871:22,4243,148
Scotland21:1,871,60827,884
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5881:85,4068,900

Keep (859) may also be a first name.

Keep Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the keep,' the donjon or stronghold of a castle.

William atte Kep, Close Rolls, 18 Edward I.

Roger Kep, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirb's Quest.

Richard atte Kippe, Somerset, 1 Edward III: ibid.

1617. Henry Keepe, Berkshire: Register of the University of Oxford.

1643. Buried — Mr. Cristever Keape, a stranger: St. Michael, Cornhiil.

1661. Baptised — Peter, s. Peter Keepe: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1743. Married — Thomas Nelson and Joanna Keep: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) Dweller at 1 a Donjon or Stronghold [Old English cépan, to observe, keep] 2 a Vivarium [Prov. English: same etym.]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Perhaps from residence at the "keep," or domestic department of a castle. If I may be allowed a little self-plagiarism here, I will extract from my "Contributions to Literature" (Lond. 1854. p. 279), the following passage: —

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From the Dutch, Kiepe, Kip; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Keep Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Keep Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Keep occurs in England more than any other country or territory. It may also occur as:. Click here for further potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Keep? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 92,778th most commonly used family name throughout the world. It is borne by around 1 in 1,415,332 people. The surname occurs predominantly in Europe, where 40 percent of Keep are found; 37 percent are found in Northern Europe and 37 percent are found in British Isles. Keep is also the 277,821st most widely held first name on earth. It is borne by 859 people.

Keep is most frequently held in England, where it is held by 1,800 people, or 1 in 30,954. In England it is most numerous in: Greater London, where 15 percent reside, Hampshire, where 7 percent reside and Berkshire, where 6 percent reside. Aside from England Keep is found in 56 countries. It is also found in The United States, where 25 percent reside and Australia, where 16 percent reside.

Keep Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Keep has changed through the years. In England the number of people carrying the Keep surname expanded 166 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it expanded 216 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 750 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 50 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Keep Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the last name is chiefly Anglican (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Keep last name are 12.14% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 58.91% being registered with the party.

The amount Keep earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 79.91% more than the national average, earning R 427,524 per year; in Colombia they earn 30.4% less than the national average, earning $15,802,000 COP per year; in United States they earn 9.23% more than the national average, earning $47,132 USD per year and in Canada they earn 5.62% more than the national average, earning $52,476 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Keepe8999/
Keyep895/
Keiep891/
Keepp891/
Keeph891/
Kep864,295/
Kheepe804/
Keeiop801/
Keespe801/
Kejiep801/
Keeppe800/
Kepe752,268/
Kiep751,993/
Koep751,785/
Kepp751,429/
Keup751,170/
Keip751,124/
Keap75684/
Keeb75166/
Kepf7536/
Kaep7532/
Khep7517/
Kepz754/
Keyp754/
Kuep753/
Keph753/
Kkep752/
Kehp752/
Gkep751/
Kebp751/
Qeep751/
Ckep751/
Kcep751/
Koepp673,442/
Koepf67532/
Keupp67515/
Keppe67360/
Keipp67211/
Keape67186/
Kayep67100/
Keipe6769/
Keyap6759/
Koyep6747/
Kaepp6746/
Keyeb6744/
Kiyep6736/
Kepps6732/
Kephe6731/
Kawep6731/
Keupe6728/
Kowep6726/
Keyip6725/
Cheep6721/
Khepe6721/
Keiap6714/
Kuiep6711/
Keebz679/
Kuyep679/
Keiph679/
Keheb675/
Kyepp674/
Kepph673/
Koeph672/
Keyev672/
Kepss672/
Kaiep672/
Kiepp672/
Kajep672/
Kheeb672/
Kepsh671/
Keyop671/
Kehzp671/
Khepp671/
Keieb671/
Kiebp671/
Keitp671/
Kejap671/
Kojep671/
Khaep671/
Kieph671/
Ceyep671/
Keejb671/
Ke'ap671/
Khiep671/
Kuepp670/
Keapf670/
Keupt670/
Keapp670/
Kepch670/

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Keep Reference & Research

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Keep
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis