Carsten
A masculine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "keeper of the enclosure".
Name Census estimates that about 2,210 living Americans carry the first name Carsten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Carsten today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carsten births was 2011 (129 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carsten. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 155,092 Americans
Peak year
2011
129 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,716
Tracked since 1912
Gender
Gender distribution for Carsten
Out of the 2,351 babies given the name Carsten since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Carsten as a male name
- Ranked #4,716 in 2024
- 21 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (129 births)
Carsten as a female name
- Ranked #15,576 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2015 (5 births)
Popularity
Carsten: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carsten from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 886 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carsten by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Carsten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Carstens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, Texas, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Carsten, while Nebraska, Illinois, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Carsten
The name Carsten originates from the Low German or North German language region, with roots that can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is a Germanic name derived from the Old Norse word "Karsi" or "Karstein," which means "warrior" or "stone."
The earliest known use of the name Carsten dates back to the 12th century, when it was mentioned in various medieval records and documents from northern Germany and Denmark. It was a popular name among the nobility and upper classes during this time period.
In the 13th century, a Carsten von Rantzau was recorded as a prominent German knight and landowner in Holstein, Germany. He was known for his bravery and military exploits during the Northern Crusades.
Another notable figure was Carsten Niebuhr, a Danish explorer and mathematician who lived from 1733 to 1815. He is famous for his participation in the Danish Arabia Expedition and his contributions to the study of ancient civilizations in the Middle East.
In the 19th century, Carsten Hauch (1790-1872) was a celebrated Danish poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Danish Golden Age of literature and was highly influential in shaping the country's cultural identity.
Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1864-1936) was a Norwegian explorer and pioneer of Antarctic exploration. He led the first expedition to overwinter on the Antarctic mainland and made significant contributions to the study of the region's geography and wildlife.
Carsten Kengeter (born 1967) is a German businessman and former CEO of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. He played a key role in the integration of various European stock exchanges and the digitalization of the financial industry.
Over the centuries, the name Carsten has maintained its popularity in Scandinavian countries, Germany, and other parts of northern Europe, often associated with strength, determination, and a connection to the region's rich cultural heritage.
People
Carsten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carsten as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Carsten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carsten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,210 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carsten going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 155,092 US residents.
Is Carsten a common name?
We classify Carsten as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,351 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carsten most popular?
The single biggest year for Carsten was 2011, when 129 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carsten is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Carsten a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Carsten in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.