Kesten
A variant spelling of the German surname meaning "chestnut tree".
Name Census estimates that about 8 living Americans carry the first name Kesten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kesten today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kesten births was 2014 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kesten. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kesten. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
8
~ 1 in 42,844,292 Americans
Peak year
2014
8 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2014 SSA rank
#9,242
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Kesten: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kesten 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 Kesten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kesten
The given name Kesten is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "cæsten" or "chesten," meaning "chestnut tree." The name first emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries AD.
This name was likely used to denote someone who lived near or was associated with chestnut trees, which were abundant in certain regions of England during that time. Similar spellings found in historical records include "Kestyn," "Chesten," and "Chestun."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kesten can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this document, a person named "Chestun" is mentioned as a landholder in the county of Wiltshire.
In the 12th century, a Benedictine monk named Kesten of Llanthony lived in the Welsh Marches region. He is notable for his involvement in the construction of the Llanthony Secunda Priory in Gloucestershire, England.
During the 13th century, a knight named Sir Kesten de Bures fought alongside King Edward I in the Welsh Wars. He participated in the conquest of Wales and was granted lands in the region for his service.
In the 15th century, a prominent figure named Kesten Woodville lived in Northamptonshire, England. He was a member of the influential Woodville family and served as a courtier to King Edward IV.
Another notable bearer of the name was Kesten Phillipps, a 17th-century English merchant and explorer. He traveled extensively in the East Indies and documented his journeys in a published account titled "A Relation of a Voyage to the East Indies."
While the name Kesten has its roots in Old English, it has been relatively uncommon throughout history, particularly in more recent centuries. However, it remains a unique and intriguing name with a rich historical background tied to the English countryside and its natural surroundings.
People
Kesten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kesten as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kesten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kesten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kesten 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 42,844,292 US residents.
Is Kesten a common name?
We classify Kesten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 24.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kesten most popular?
The single biggest year for Kesten was 2014, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kesten is about 12 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 Kesten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kesten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kesten 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 Kesten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kesten 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 Kesten 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 common is the name Kesten?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.