Kieffer 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 Kieffer originally appeared in Gaelic as "O Caoimh," which is derived from the word "caomh," which means "gentle."

Early Origins of the Kieffer family

The surname Kieffer 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 Kieffer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kieffer 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 Kieffer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kieffer Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, attempting to record a Gaelic name in English was a daunting task. Most names were spelt by scribes solely based on how it sounded, one's name could have been recorded many different ways during the life of its bearer. Numerous spelling variations were revealed in the search for the origin of the name Kieffer family name.Variations found include O'Keeffe, O'Keefe, Keefe, Keeffe, Keefer, Keiffe and others.

Early Notables of the Kieffer 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 Kieffer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kieffer Ranking

In the United States, the name Kieffer is the 5,741^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Kieffer is ranked the 532^nd most popular surname with an estimated 8,655 people with that name. 3

Kieffer migration to the United States +

Irish immigrants began to leave the English-controlled Ireland in sizable numbers during the late 18th century. Many of these Irish immigrated to British North America or the United States in the hopes of gaining their own tract of farmland. This pattern of migration grew steadily until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine caused a great exodus of immigrants to North America. These immigrants differed from their predecessors in that they were desperately fleeing the disease and starvation that plagued their homeland, and many were entirely destitute when they arrived in North America. Although these penniless immigrants were not warmly welcomed when they arrived, they were critical to the rapid development of the United States and what would become known as Canada. Many went to populate the western frontiers and others provided the cheap labor the new manufacturing sector and the building of bridges, roads, railways, and canals required. A thorough examination of immigration and passenger lists has revealed some of the earliest people to arrive in North America with name Kieffer or one of its variants:

Kieffer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Wilhelm Kieffer, who arrived in New York with his wife Catharine and three children in 1709
Wilhelm Kieffer, who arrived in New York in 1709-1710 4
Willhelm Kieffer, who landed in New York, NY in 1709 4
Johan William Kieffer, who landed in New York, NY in 1710-1714 4
Johann Wilhelm Kieffer, who landed in New York, NY in 1710 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Kieffer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Kieffer, aged 25, who landed in New York in 1812-1813 4
Adam Kieffer, who landed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 1847 4
Fred Kieffer, who landed in Texas in 1850-1906 4
J P Kieffer, who arrived in Iowa in 1870 4
John Kieffer, who landed in Iowa in 1882 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Kieffer (post 1700) +

Robert Leo Kieffer (1930-2017), American businessperson and politician, Member of the Maine Senate (1992-2000)
Susan Elizabeth Werner Kieffer (b. 1942), American physical geologist and planetary scientist
Charles Kieffer (1910-1975), American gold medalist rower at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Aldine Silliman Kieffer (1840-1904), American music writer
Howard Kieffer, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2004 5
E. F. Kieffer, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Iowa State Senate 46th District, 1948; Candidate for Iowa State House of Representatives from Plymouth County, 1950 5
Christian Kieffer, American politician, Mayor of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1852-54 5
Philippe Kieffer (1899-1962), French naval officer
Oliver Kieffer (b. 1979), French bronze medalist volleyball player at the 2002 World Championships
Jean-Jacques Kieffer (1857-1925), French entomologist
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html