Casten
A masculine name of German origin meaning "castle-dweller".
Name Census estimates that about 176 living Americans carry the first name Casten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Casten today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Casten births was 2008 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Casten. 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
176
~ 1 in 1,947,468 Americans
Peak year
2008
15 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,040
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Casten: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Casten from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 110 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Casten remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Casten 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 Casten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Casten
The given name Casten has its origins in the Germanic languages, deriving from the Old High German word "casta" meaning "pure" or "chaste." It was initially prevalent in regions of modern-day Germany and parts of Central Europe during the early medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Casten can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval historical records from the 9th century. The name appears in reference to a nobleman named Casten von Arnsberg, who lived in the region of what is now North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
In the 11th century, a notable figure bearing the name Casten was Casten von Falkenau, a Benedictine monk and scholar from the Principality of Anhalt. He was renowned for his contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts and the promotion of education within monastic communities.
During the 13th century, Casten von Eichstätt, a German knight and crusader, gained recognition for his participation in the Fifth Crusade to the Holy Land. Records indicate that he was part of the contingent led by King Andrew II of Hungary.
In the 15th century, the name Casten was associated with Casten Dircks, a Dutch explorer and navigator who embarked on voyages to the northern regions of Europe, including the Arctic Circle. His expeditions contributed to the expansion of geographical knowledge during the Age of Discovery.
Another notable figure was Casten von Trier, a German Renaissance humanist and philosopher from the 16th century. He was known for his writings on ethics and morality, which drew inspiration from classical Greek and Roman philosophers.
While the name Casten has its roots in Germanic languages, it has also been adopted and adapted in various cultures throughout history, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. However, the core meaning and essence of the name, signifying purity and virtue, have remained consistent across different regions and time periods.
People
Casten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Casten 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
Casten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Casten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 176 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Casten 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 1,947,468 US residents.
Is Casten a common name?
We classify Casten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Casten most popular?
The single biggest year for Casten was 2008, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Casten is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Casten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Casten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Casten 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.
Is Casten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Casten in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Casten can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Casten?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.