Male name
Keith
633 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 1996. Expression number: 8.
Origin
As a Scottish surname, from the placename in Moray, Scotland, from Scottish Gaelic Cèith, meaning "wood" or "from the battleground," which is probably borrowed from Pictish *ᚉᚓᚈ (cēt) meaning "wood", or a forest, from Proto-Brythonic *koɨd. As a German surname, from Middle High German kit (“sprout, offspring”); compare Middle High German kint.From Wiktionary, entry “Keith”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know a Keith?
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How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 1996: 57 births. 633 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s and 2000s. It is still given: 29 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1957: 12,483 births. 440,123 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. At its peak, it ranked 32nd among boys' names in 1966. It really came into use around 1900. It is still given: 1,873 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 1975: 459 births. 10,053 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. At its peak, it ranked 17th among boys' names in 1975. It is still given: 18 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quebec | 260 | 1980–2025 | — |
| Switzerland | 202* | 1915–2025 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution.
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
8
power, achievement, your relationship with money
2 + 5 + 9 + 2 + 8 = 26 → 8
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
5
freedom, change, movement
5 + 9 = 14 → 5
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
3
expression, creativity, sociability
2 + 2 + 8 = 12 → 3
- Digits missing from the name
- 1, 3, 4, 6, 7
- Most frequent digit
- 2 · cooperation, sensitivity, connection
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.