2000
#12,902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,185
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Carstensen
Son of Carsten, a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname derived from the given name Carsten, meaning "Christian."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,417 Americans carry the last name Carstensen. That puts it at #13,749 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 141,810 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Carstensen surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 141,810
Census rank
#13,749
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,108 bearers of the surname Carstensen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13749th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Carstensen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carstensen
Among Census respondents with the surname Carstensen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Carstensen bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Carstensen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 1,966
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 61
- Two or more races2.9% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Carstensen
Carstensen appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,453
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,264
+79 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 551 places
2020
#13,749
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,108
-156 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 296 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,902 | 2,185 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,453 | 2,264 | 0.77 | +79 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 551 places |
| 2020 | #13,749 | 2,108 | 0.71 | -156 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 296 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Carstensen surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,453 | #13,749 | -2.2% |
| Count | 2,264 | 2,108 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.71 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Carstensen bearers went from 2,264 to 2,108 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 296 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,453 to #13,749.
FAQ
Carstensen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Carstensen?
Name Census estimates that about 2,417 living Americans carry the surname Carstensen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 141,810 residents.
How common is Carstensen?
Carstensen ranks #13,749 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,108 people with the surname Carstensen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,417), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Carstensen.
Has Carstensen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Carstensen went from 2,264 recorded bearers to 2,108. That is a decrease of 156 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,453 to #13,749.
What does the Census say about the background of Carstensen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Carstensen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Carstensen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (1,966 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Carstensen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Carstensen (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Carstensen mean?
Son of Carsten, a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname derived from the given name Carsten, meaning "Christian." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Carstensen (0.71 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Carstensen?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.