O'Keffee Surname

8,193,072nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 5 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Ireland

O'Keffee Surname Definition:

This ancient Munster sept derive" from Art Caemh-the last two letters being pronounced in Irish as F, or rather as V-who was himself the son of Finguine, King of Munster, whose death in 902 the Four Masters record, as they do that of Ceallach O'Caemh in 1063.

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O'Keffee Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England31:18,572,686338,250
Ireland21:2,354,47019,715
Australia11:26,995,701270,794
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
United States11:362,458,9331,988,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland81:553,73317,655
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland41:935,80421,348

O'Keffee Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This ancient Munster sept derive" from Art Caemh-the last two letters being pronounced in Irish as F, or rather as V-who was himself the son of Finguine, King of Munster, whose death in 902 the Four Masters record, as they do that of Ceallach O'Caemh in 1063." D'Alton.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

O'KEEFE: The descendant of Kief. Kief, in the Danish, signifies brave, stout, courageous.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

User-submitted Reference

O'Keeffe likely comes from, caomh, meaning 'kind' or 'gentle' in the Irish Gaelic language. The feminine form of the original is Ní Chaoimh. As the primary sept of the Eóganacht Glendamnach, the family were once Kings of Munster from the 6th to the 8th centuries.

- leeanthonyfl

O'Keffee Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name O'Keffee Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname O'Keffee is most common in England. It may also be found as a variant:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name O'Keffee? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 8,193,072nd most frequent surname on a worldwide basis. It is borne by approximately 1 in 1,457,509,183 people. This surname occurs mostly in Europe, where 100 percent of O'Keffee are found; 100 percent are found in Northern Europe and 100 percent are found in British Isles.

The last name O'Keffee is most commonly held in England, where it is held by 3 people, or 1 in 18,572,686. In England O'Keffee is most numerous in: Greater London, where 67 percent are found and Durham, where 33 percent are found. Aside from England this last name is found in 4 countries. It also occurs in Ireland, where 40 percent are found and Australia, where 20 percent are found.

O'Keffee Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of O'Keffee has changed over time. In Ireland the share of the population with the surname contracted 75 percent between 1901 and 2014.

O'Keffee Last Name Statistics demography

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

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
O'Keeffee9421/
O'Keffe9328/
Okeffee934/
O'Kefee931/
O'Keeffe8820,142/
O'Kieffe8852/
O'Keiffe8845/
O'Keefee8811/
Okeeffee888/
O'Keaffe880/
Okeffe8629/
O'Kefe865/
Okefee862/
O'Keeffer820/
O'Keefe8022,477/
Okeeffe803,563/
Okieffe8047/
O'Keife8037/
Okeiffe8017/
Okeefee8015/
Okeffie806/
O'Kiefe802/
Gokeffe801/
Okaeffe801/
Okeaffe800/
Okefe77367/
Oikeeffe757/
Okkeeffe753/
O'Keeffa750/
Okeefe7119,196/
Okefie71384/
Okeife7155/
Okiffe7136/
Gokefe7127/
Ozkefe7125/
Okiefe7113/
Okeffi718/
Okeafe715/
Okefer712/
Okesfe712/
Akeffe711/
O'Coffeey711/
Okedfe711/
Okefeh711/
Okaffe710/
Okeefep675/
Ekaeffe673/
Ookeefe672/
Okeefes671/
Okeafer671/
Ockeefe670/

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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 O'Keffee
  • 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