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

Ast, 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 Ast surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ast in America

Ast is the 22978th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ast surname appeared 1,113 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 Ast.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ast 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 Ast

The surname AST is of German origin, and it is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old High German word "ast," which means "branch" or "bough." This suggests that the original bearers of this surname may have lived near a prominent tree or wooded area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name AST can be found in the Württemberg region of Germany in the 15th century. The name appears in various historical records from this area, including tax rolls and land registers. It is also possible that the name was initially associated with a specific place or locality, as was often the case with surnames during that time.

In the 16th century, the surname AST appeared in the records of the city of Nuremberg, a prominent center of trade and commerce in the Holy Roman Empire. A notable individual bearing this name was Hans Ast (1491-1551), a German woodcarver and sculptor who was active in Nuremberg during the Renaissance period.

Another historical figure with the surname AST was Johann Ast (1597-1649), a German Protestant theologian and philosopher from Saxony. He was known for his work on the interpretation of the Bible and his contributions to the field of hermeneutics.

In the 18th century, the name AST was recorded in the Palatinate region of Germany, where a family by the name of Ast was involved in the wine-making industry. One member of this family, Johann Philipp Ast (1722-1805), was a notable winemaker and vineyard owner in the town of Deidesheim.

As the AST family spread throughout Germany and other parts of Europe, the surname underwent various spelling variations, such as Aste, Asst, and Asste. Some individuals with this name also adopted alternative spellings or variants, such as Asten or Astaio, particularly when migrating to other countries.

Other notable individuals with the surname AST include Friedrich Ast (1778-1841), a German philologist and philosopher who taught at the University of Landshut, and Georg Anton Friedrich Ast (1804-1876), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as the president of the Bavarian Court of Appeals.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ast

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

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 Ast 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 Ast 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 Ast was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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