Kjersten
A feminine Scandinavian name meaning "Christian" or "follower of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 292 living Americans carry the first name Kjersten. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kjersten today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kjersten births was 1979 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kjersten. 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
292
~ 1 in 1,173,816 Americans
Peak year
1979
14 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,850
Tracked since 1971
Census
Kjersten in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 371 people with the first name Kjersten, which placed it at #25,534 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#25,534
National first-name rank
People counted
371
371 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
93.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kjersten
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kjersten is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kjersten described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kjersten at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 346
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 12
- Two or more races2.2% · 8
- Black or African American0.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Kjersten: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kjersten from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 101 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kjersten 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 Kjersten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kjerstens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kjersten
Kjersten is a Scandinavian given name with roots tracing back to ancient Norse language and culture. The name is derived from the Old Norse word "Ketilsten," which means "precious stone" or "gem." It is believed to have originated in the Viking era, around the 8th to 11th centuries AD.
The name Kjersten was particularly popular in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden during the Middle Ages. It was often associated with nobility and royalty, as precious stones were highly valued and symbolic of wealth and status. The name may have been given to children born into affluent families or those with strong ties to the ruling class.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kjersten can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of Old Norse literature that dates back to the 13th century. In the Saga of Grettir the Strong, there is a character named Kjersten who plays a minor role in the narrative.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kjersten. One of the most prominent was Kjersten Pihl (1825-1897), a Danish writer and feminist who advocated for women's rights and education. Another was Kjersten Holt (1889-1967), a Norwegian actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions during the early 20th century.
In the realm of science, Kjersten Holm (1917-1994) was a renowned Danish botanist and plant physiologist. She made significant contributions to the understanding of plant growth and development, particularly in relation to the effects of light and temperature.
Moving into the modern era, Kjersten Hasselberg (1923-2015) was a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as the first female president of the United Nations General Assembly from 1968 to 1969. Her tenure marked an important milestone for gender equality in international affairs.
Another notable figure was Kjersten Eiker (born 1974), a Norwegian cross-country skier who won multiple Olympic and World Championship medals throughout her career. She was a dominant force in the sport during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
While the name Kjersten has its roots in ancient Norse culture, it has endured and transcended its origins, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions across various fields throughout history.
People
Kjersten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kjersten 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
Kjersten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kjersten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 292 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kjersten 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 1,173,816 US residents.
Is Kjersten a common name?
We classify Kjersten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 305 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kjersten most popular?
The single biggest year for Kjersten was 1979, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kjersten is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kjersten in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 371 people with the name Kjersten, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,534 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kjersten in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kjersten?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kjersten leans strongly female. 366 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kjersten?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kjersten is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kjersten most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kjersten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (346 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Kjersten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kjersten a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kjersten 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.
Is Kjersten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kjersten 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 Kjersten 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.
How many Americans are named Kjersten?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.