Keith

English

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.^[1]^[2]
As a German surname, from Middle High German kit (“sprout, offspring”) (compare kint).

Keith (countable and uncountable, plural Keiths)

(countable) A Scottish surname.
(countable) A male given name transferred from the surname.
- 2021 November 5, Chris Cillizza, “Even Democrats are now admitting ‘Defund the Police’ was a massive mistake”, in CNN‎^[1]:
  “I think allowing this moniker, ‘Defund the police,’ to ever get out there, was not a good thing,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) told The Washington Post’s Dave Weigel on Thursday.
A placename:
1. A town in Moray council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NJ4250).
2. A town in Tatiara council area, south-east South Australia.
3. An unincorporated community in Catoosa County, Georgia, United States.
4. An unincorporated community in Noble County, Ohio, United States.
5. An unincorporated community and coal town in Boone County, West Virginia, United States.
6. A ghost town in Lincoln, Forest County, Wisconsin, United States.

1815, Sir Walter Scott, The Lord of the Isles:
Behind them, screened in sheltering wood,
The gallant Keith, Lord Marshal, stood:
His men-at-arms bear mace and lance,
And plumes that wave, and helms that glance.
2005, Andrew L. Brown, Overcoming Adversity: Your Dreams Matter., →ISBN, page 35:
My middle name, Keith, is music to my ears. It's like jazz on a cool summer night. My very closest family members call me Keith for short.

^ Patrick Hanks, Flavia Hodges, Kate Hardcastle, editor (2006) “Keith”, in A Dictionary of First Names, second edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN.
^ Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Keith”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 289.

From English Keith, probably from Celtic.

Keith