Keifer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany
Ireland

All Irish surnames have underlying meanings that can be traced back to their fullest points when the names first appeared in a Gaelic form. The name Keifer originally appeared in Gaelic as "O Caoimh," which is derived from the word "caomh," which means "gentle."

Early Origins of the Keifer family

The surname Keifer was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

"In ancient times the O'Keeffes were Marshals and chief military leaders of Desmond. They possessed several castles, and were styled Princes of Fermoy. The principal county for the Keeffes and O'Keefes at present is Cork." 1

Early History of the Keifer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keifer research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1640, 1655, 1670, 1691, 1703, 1740, 1747, 1778, 1791 and 1833 are included under the topic Early Keifer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keifer Spelling Variations

The spelling of one's surname was not as important as it is today. Names were recorded as they sounded and in many cases, one's surname changed with each listing. As a result, surnames often had many spelling variations. For Keifer some of these variations included: O'Keeffe, O'Keefe, Keefe, Keeffe, Keefer, Keiffe and others.

Early Notables of the Keifer family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Constantine O'Keeffe (born c. 1670) who was admitted to the French aristocracy in 1740 on the basis of...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Keifer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keifer Ranking

In the United States, the name Keifer is the 15,785^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Keifer migration to the United States +

Irish families fled the English-colonized Ireland in record numbers during the 19th century for North America. Many of those destitute families died from disease during, and even shortly after, the long journey. Although those that immigrated before the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s often were granted a tract of land, those that arrived later were generally accommodated in urban centers or in work camps. Those in the urban centers would labor in the manufacturing sector, whereas those in work camps would to build critical infrastructures such as bridges, canals, roads, and railways. Regardless of when these Irish immigrants came to North America, they were critical for the rapid development of the young nations of the United States and Canada. Early immigration and passenger lists have recorded many early immigrants bearing the name of Keifer:

Keifer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Catharina Susanna Keifer, who arrived in New York in 1710
Balthasar Keifer, who settled in New York in 1710
John William Keifer, who landed in New York in 1710 3
Jacob Keifer, aged 8, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 3
Leonhard Keifer, aged 27, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 3

Keifer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Adam Keifer, who landed in Maryland in 1827 3
David Keifer, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1843 3
Louis Keifer, who landed in Mississippi in 1848 3
Christian Keifer, who settled in Ohio in 1857
Peter Keifer, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1878 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Keifer migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Keifer Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Anthony Keifer, who arrived in Ontario in 1871

Contemporary Notables of the name Keifer (post 1700) +

Joseph Warren Keifer (1836-1932), American Republican politician, Member of Ohio State Senate, 1868-69; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1876, 1908 4
E. G. Keifer, American politician, Farmer-Labor Candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 3rd District, 1934, 1935 4

Citations +

Matheson, Robert E., Special Report on Surnames in Ireland with Notes as to Numeric Strength, Derivation, Ethnology, and Distribution. Dublin: Alexander Thom & Co., 1894. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html