Keith
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name transferred from the surname. * 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.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Keith (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Few babies have been given the name since 1998; it belongs mostly to older generations. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 350 |
| 2000 | 355 |
| 2001 | 350 |
| 2002 | 349 |
| 2003 | 351 |
| 2004 | 355 |
| 2005 | 347 |
| 2006 | 351 |
| 2007 | 347 |
| 2008 | 353 |
| 2009 | 363 |
| 2010 | 364 |
| 2011 | 359 |
| 2012 | 359 |
| 2013 | 356 |
| 2014 | 357 |
| 2015 | 352 |
| 2016 | 352 |
| 2017 | 348 |
| 2018 | 346 |
| 2019 | 345 |
| 2020 | 340 |
Keith in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Keith.Hi! My name is Keith.
- Keith har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Keith has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Jag ska fika med Keith i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Keith this afternoon.
- Keiths mamma är lärare.Keith's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Keiths mamma is Keith's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Keith
How do you pronounce Keith in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Keith in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Keith mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name transferred from the surname. * 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.
How popular is Keith in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Keith in 2022. In 2020, 340 people in Sweden had Keith as the first name they go by.
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.