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

Carstensen, 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 Carstensen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Carstensen in America

Carstensen is the 13453rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Carstensen surname appeared 2,264 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Carstensen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Carstensen 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 Carstensen

The surname Carstensen originated in Germany and Denmark in the northern regions of these countries. It is a patronymic name, meaning it was derived from the father's given name Carsten, with the suffix "-sen" or "-son" added, indicating "son of Carsten". Carsten itself is a Danish and German form of the name Christian.

The name Carstensen is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, perhaps as early as the 13th or 14th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Danish town of Flensburg in the year 1524, referring to a man named Peter Carstensen.

In Germany, the name Carstensen was particularly prevalent in the northern states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is also found in records from the city of Hamburg dating back to the 16th century.

A notable early bearer of the name was Hans Carstensen, a Danish merchant and ship owner who lived in the late 16th century. He was involved in trade between Denmark and the Netherlands.

Another early example is Johann Carstensen, a German Lutheran pastor who lived in the 17th century and served in the town of Lübeck.

In the 18th century, Peter Carstensen (1705-1776) was a Danish naval officer who served in the Royal Danish Navy.

A more recent figure was Asmus Carstensen (1847-1912), a German painter known for his landscapes and marine scenes, who was born in the town of Tönning in Schleswig-Holstein.

Niels Carstensen (1875-1944) was a Danish politician and member of the Folketing, the Danish parliament, in the early 20th century.

While the name Carstensen is predominantly found in Germany and Denmark, it has also spread to other parts of Northern Europe and beyond through migration and exploration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Carstensen

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

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

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

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