Keith (given name)
| Pronunciation | /ˈkiːθ/ KEETH |
|---|---|
| Gender | male |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Celtic |
| Meaning | "wood, forest", "from the battleground" |
Keith is a masculine given name. It comes from a Scottish surname, adopted as a given name in the 19th century. The surname derives from a toponym, Keith Marischal in East Lothian, possibly containing the Brittonic element cet "woods, forest."[1] Keith was the 298th most common name given to newborn boys in the United States in 2007.[2]
Keith is the English spelling of the ancient Irish/Celtic Gael, first name, Cíat. There was no K in Gaelic until recently with the introduction of Gaeilge Nua. Irish uses only 24 letters of the English alphabet, but as accents on the vowels, a,e,i,o and u. Ceiteach is the modern Gaeilge for Keith, but unlike Cíat, Ceiteach has no meaning. Cíat, means from the battle place but the most appropriate translation to modern English is warrior.
People with the given name
- Keith Stewart (1739–1795), Scottish Admiral and MP in the British Parliament
- Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936), British writer
- Keith Park (1892–1975), New Zealand Air Marshall of World War II
- Keith Falconer Fletcher (b. 1900), Massachusetts legislator
- Keith Holyoake (1904–1983), former Prime Minister of New Zealand (1957, 1960–1972)
- Keith M. Pyburn (1910–1967), former Louisiana state legislator
- Keith Mant (1919–2000), British forensic pathologist
- Keith Miller (1919–2004), Australian cricketer
- Keith Douglas (1920–1944), British poet
- Keith Beebe (1921–1998), American football player
- Keith Jackson (1928–2016), American sportscaster
- Keith Flowers (1930–1993), American football player
- Keith Rupert Murdoch (b. 1931), international businessman
- Keith Barnes (b. 1934), Australian rugby league player
- Keith Fowler (b. 1939), American Theater Director, Educator
- Keith Lincoln (1939–2019), American football player
- Keith Coleman (disambiguation), several people
- Keith Henson (b. 1942), American electrical engineer and writer on life extension, cryonics, memetics and evolutionary psychology
- Keith Allan (linguist) (b. 1943), Australian linguist
- Keith Floyd (1943–2009), British chef
- Keith Relf (1943–1976), English musician, the lead vocalist of the Yardbirds
- Keith Richards (b. 1943), British guitarist
- Keith Babb (b. 1944), American television personality and auctioneer of quarter horses
- Keith Emerson (1944–2016), British musician
- Keith Erickson (b. 1944), American basketball player
- Keith Jarrett (b. 1945), American jazz pianist
- Keith Ackerman (b. 1946) Anglican Bishop
- Keith William Allan (1946–2000), Australian solicitor
- Keith Moon (1946–1978), British musician
- Keith Eaman (b. 1947), Canadian football player
- Keith Harris (ventriloquist) (1947–2015), English ventriloquist
- Keith Carradine (b. 1949), American actor
- Keith Lamb (musician) (b. 1952), Australian singer and songwriter
- Keith Szarabajka (b. 1952), American actor
- Keith Green (1953–1982), American musician
- Keith R. Harris (born 1953), English financier
- Keith Hernandez (b. 1953), American baseball player
- Keith Scott (voice actor) (born 1953), Australian voice actor, impressionist and animation historian
- Keith Strickland (b. 1953), American rock musician, songwriter and member of the band The B-52s
- Keith Harris (rugby league) (born 1954), Australian former professional rugby league footballer
- Keith Moreland (b. 1954), American baseball player
- Keith Scott (musician) (b. 1954), Canadian guitar player
- Keith Whitley (1955–1989), American country music singer
- Keith David (b. 1956), American actor
- Keith Chegwin (1957–2017), British television presenter
- Keith Harris (cricketer) (born 1957), English cricketer
- Keith Lee (American football) (b. 1957), American football player
- Keith Levene (b. 1957), British guitarist
- Keith Dambrot (b. 1958), American college basketball coach
- Keith Valentine Graham (b. 1958), better known as Levi Roots, British-Jamaican musician, celebrity chef and businessman
- Keith Haring (1958–1990), American artist
- Keith Olbermann (b. 1959), American broadcaster and sportscaster, host of Countdown
- Keith Baldwin (b. 1960), American football player
- Keith Sweat (b. 1961), American R&B singer
- Keith Kidd (b. 1962), American football player
- Keith Lee (basketball) (b. 1962), American basketball player
- Keith Cieplicki (b. 1963), American basketball player and coach
- Keith Ellison (b. 1963), American politician and lawyer
- Keith Thornton (b. 1963), American rapper better known as Kool Keith
- Keith Lockhart (baseball) (b. 1964), American baseball player
- Keith Ridgway (b. 1965), Irish writer
- Keith Elam (1966–2010), American hip hop artist
- Keith Scott (footballer) (born 1967), former professional footballer
- Keith Urban (b. 1967), Australian country music singer
- Keith Anderson (b. 1968), American country music artist
- Keith Allan (actor) (b. 1969), American actor and screenwriter
- Keith Flint (1969–2019), member of British electronica band The Prodigy
- Keith Owens (b. 1969), American basketball player
- Shane Keith Warne (b. 1969), Australian cricket player
- Keith Carney (b. 1970), American hockey player
- Keith Coogan (b. 1970), American actor
- Keith Tkachuk (b. 1972), American hockey player
- Keith Wood (b. 1972), Irish rugby union player
- Keith Berry (musician) (b. 1973), London-based musician and composer
- Keith Caputo (b. 1973), American musician, vocalist for Life of Agony
- Keith Morgan (judoka) (b. 1973), Canadian judoka
- Keith Lamont Scott (1973–2016), an African-American fatally shot by police in 2016 in North Carolina
- Keith Booth (b. 1974), American basketball player
- Keith Getty (b. 1974), Irish musician
- Keith Hodge (b. 1974), American comedian of the Hodgetwins
- Keith Malley (b. 1974), American comedian, star of the popular internet podcast Keith and the Girl
- Keith Murray (rapper) (b. 1974), American hip hop artist
- Keith Jardine (b. 1975), American mixed martial artist
- Keith Van Horn (b. 1975), American basketball player
- Keith Harris (record producer) (born 1976), American record producer, songwriter and musician
- Keith Newman (b. 1977), American football player
- Keith Buckley (b. 1979), American musician, vocalist for Every Time I Die and The Damned Things
- Keith Powell (b. 1979), American Actor
- Keith Andrews (footballer) (b. 1980), Irish footballer
- Keith Beavers (b. 1983), Canadian backstroke and medley swimmer
- Keith Langford (b. 1983), American basketball player
- Keith Galloway (b. 1985), Australian Rugby League player
- Keith Harkin (b. 1986), Irish solo musician and former principal singer of all-male musical group Celtic Thunder
- Keith Keane (b. 1986), Irish footballer
- Keith Yandle (b. 1986), American hockey player
- Keith Berry (fighter) (b. 1987), American mixed martial artist
- Keith Earls (b. 1987), Irish rugby union player
- Keith Lulia (b. 1987), Australian-Cook Islander Rugby League player
- Keith Price (b. 1991), American football player
- Keith Reaser (b. 1991), American football player
- Keith Kirkwood (born 1993), American football player
- Keith Ford (b. 1994), American football player
- Keith Towbridge (b. 1995), American football player
- Keith Farrelle Cozart (b. 1995), American rapper and songwriter known by his stage name Chief Keef
- Keith Braxton (b. 1997), American basketball player
- Keith Ismael (b. 1998), American football player
Fictional characters
- Keith (Voltron), a main character of Voltron: Legendary Defender
- Keith Dudemeister, a supporting character in Scrubs
- Dr. Keith Ricks, a dolphin researcher, one of the main characters from Flipper (1995 TV series), portrayed by Brian Wimmer
- Keith Watson, a character from the TV series The Electric Company
- King K. Rool, a prominent villain in the Donkey Kong series of video games
See also
References
- ^ Hanks, P; Hardcastle, K.; & Hodges, F. (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Popular baby names
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