Before the colonial era, the settlement was known as ǂNuǂgoaes or Swartmodder, both meaning "Black Marsh" and indicating the presence of a spring in the area.

[4] In 1860 the Rhenish Missionary Society founded a mission there to christianise the local Nama people.

Keetmanshoop is connected to the TransNamib railway system, situated on the line from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa.

The J. Stephanus Stadium is located in Keetmanshoop and is home to Fedics United F.C., a football team in the Namibia Premier League.

The town is situated near two quiver tree forests, one of them being a national monument and a major tourist attraction of Namibia.

Near Keetsmanshoop are notable localities for fossil Mesosaurus, an extinct genus of reptile from the Early Permian of southern Africa and South America.

Of the three other parties seeking votes in the election, Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) received approximately 35% of the vote, followed by the Democratic Party of Namibia (DPN, 10%) and the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA, 7%).