Find out how popular the last name Absten is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Absten.

Absten, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Absten surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Absten in America

Absten is the 140157th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Absten surname appeared 119 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Absten.

We can also compare 2010 data for Absten to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Absten

The surname ABSTEN is believed to have originated in Germany, possibly in the early Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "absten," which meant "to descend from" or "to originate from." This suggests that the name may have been initially used to identify individuals or families who had recently moved to a new location from somewhere else.

One of the earliest known records of this surname dates back to the 13th century, when a person named Heinricus Absten was mentioned in a historical document from the city of Cologne. This document provides evidence that the name was in use in the Rhineland region of Germany during that time period.

In the 14th century, there are records of an Absten family residing in the town of Heidingsfeld, near Würzburg in Bavaria. This indicates that the name had spread to other parts of Germany by that point.

The name ABSTEN can also be found in various medieval manuscripts and records from different parts of Germany, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, which includes references to individuals with this surname living in Saxony in the 15th and 16th centuries.

One notable person with the surname ABSTEN was Johann Absten (1499-1573), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was born in Saxony and was a close associate of Martin Luther.

Another individual worth mentioning is Christoph Absten (1592-1657), a German mathematician and astronomer who made contributions to the development of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.

In the 18th century, there was a family of Absten merchants based in the city of Hamburg, who were involved in international trade. One member of this family, Heinrich Absten (1725-1801), became a wealthy and influential figure in the city.

The name ABSTEN can also be found in various place names throughout Germany, such as Absten-Dorf (Absten Village) in Bavaria and Absten-Bach (Absten Creek) in Saxony, suggesting that families with this surname may have been among the early settlers in those areas.

One of the earliest documented instances of the name ABSTEN appearing outside of Germany is in the records of the Dutch East India Company, where a person named Pieter Absten is listed as serving on a ship in the 17th century, indicating that individuals with this surname had begun to migrate to other parts of Europe by that time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Absten

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Absten.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Absten was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Absten has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Absten was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Absten, please contact us.

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