Kiersten
A feminine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "Christ's beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 14,348 living Americans carry the first name Kiersten. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kiersten today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kiersten births was 2005 (662 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kiersten. 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
14K
~ 1 in 23,889 Americans
Peak year
2005
662 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
1997 SSA rank
#3,915
Tracked since 1963
Gender
Gender distribution for Kiersten
Out of the 14,784 babies given the name Kiersten since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Kiersten as a male name
- Ranked #10,100 in 1997
- 5 male births in 1997
- Peak: 1997 (5 births)
Kiersten as a female name
- Ranked #3,915 in 2024
- 38 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (662 births)
Popularity
Kiersten: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kiersten from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 5,652 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kiersten 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 Kiersten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kierstens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. Pennsylvania, California, New York recorded the most babies named Kiersten, while New Hampshire, Idaho, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 300 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kiersten
The name Kiersten is a feminine given name derived from the English surname Kiersten, which is a variant of the Irish surname Kieran. The name Kieran itself is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "ciar," meaning "black" or "dark-featured."
The name Kiersten is believed to have originated in Ireland during the Middle Ages, where it was primarily used as a masculine name. It gained popularity as a feminine name in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States, during the 20th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kiersten can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle dating back to the 15th century. The text mentions a man named Kieran who was a famous Irish saint and abbot of Clonmacnoise in the 6th century.
In the realm of literature, the name Kiersten appears in several works, including the novel "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving, published in 1985. In the book, one of the characters is named Kiersten Wetheral.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kiersten. One of the earliest was Kiersten Holm (born around 1290), a Norwegian noble and landowner who played a significant role in the political events of her time.
Another notable Kiersten was Kiersten Schiøler (1497-1567), a Danish Renaissance scholar and humanist who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Latin literature.
In more recent times, Kiersten Warren (born 1976) is an American actress known for her roles in television series such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Midnight, Texas."
Kiersten Hathcock (born 1988) is a former American gymnast who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she won a silver medal as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team.
Kiersten Muir (born 1993) is a Canadian actress and singer who has appeared in several television shows and movies, including the Nickelodeon series "The Other Kingdom."
People
Kiersten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kiersten 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
Kiersten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kiersten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,348 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kiersten 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 23,889 US residents.
Is Kiersten a common name?
We classify Kiersten as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14,784 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kiersten most popular?
The single biggest year for Kiersten was 2005, when 662 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kiersten is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kiersten a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kiersten in the SSA data are female. 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.