How common is the surname Key?

33,501 people in the United States had the surname Key in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,216 Americans. It ranked 1,037th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Key?

In the 2010 Census, 69% of people named Key identified as white (not Hispanic), and 25% as Black (not Hispanic).

Who is the most famous person named Key?

Keegan-Michael Key, American actor and comedian, followed by Francis Scott Key.

Where is the surname Key most common?

Wikidata records people named Key in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

Is the surname Key getting more or less common?

More common. 31,882 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,501 in 2010, up 5.1%.

The surname Key

A surname, carried by 33,501 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex K000

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Key is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 33,501 people named Key in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,216 Americans. That is up 5.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 31,882.

#1,037

rank among US surnames

33,501

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+5.1%

change since 2000 (was #999)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,028	Forbes	33,813	9,131
#1,029	Saenz	33,787	9,138
#1,030	Davies	33,753	9,147
#1,031	Vera	33,674	9,169
#1,032	Levine	33,637	9,179
#1,033	Mooney	33,555	9,201
#1,034	John	33,543	9,204

Who is named Key

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

69% of people named Key identified as white (not Hispanic), 25% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 69%
Black (not Hispanic) 25%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 2.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Keys

12 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Keegan-Michael Key
American actor and comedian, born 1971
Francis Scott Key
American lawyer and poet who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner (1779-1843)
Kelly Key
Brazilian singer, born 1983
James Key
British engineer, born 1972
Ryan Key
American musician, born 1979
David M. Key
American judge and politician (1824-1900)
Kathleen Key
American actress (1903-1954)
Alexander Key
American writer (1904-1979)
Tim Key
British actor and comedian, born 1976
Philip Key
American politician (1750-1820)
John A. Key
American politician (1871-1954)
Marshall Kay
American geologist (1904–1975)

Notable Keys come mostly from the United States (9), the United Kingdom (2) and Brazil (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Key

Key has the Soundex code K000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code K000.

Questions

How common is the surname Key?: 33,501 people in the United States had the surname Key in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,216 Americans. It ranked 1,037th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Key?: In the 2010 Census, 69% of people named Key identified as white (not Hispanic), and 25% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Key?: Keegan-Michael Key, American actor and comedian, followed by Francis Scott Key.
Where is the surname Key most common?: Wikidata records people named Key in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.
Is the surname Key getting more or less common?: More common. 31,882 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,501 in 2010, up 5.1%.