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

Gerstein, 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 Gerstein surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gerstein in America

Gerstein is the 19480th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gerstein surname appeared 1,387 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 Gerstein.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gerstein 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 Gerstein

The surname Gerstein originated in Germany, likely in the 15th or 16th century. It is derived from the German words "Ger" meaning spear and "stein" meaning stone, suggesting the name may have referred to someone who lived near a prominent rocky outcropping or landmark.

One of the earliest known records of the name Gerstein appears in the town of Erfurt, in what was then known as the Holy Roman Empire, dating back to the late 16th century. The name is also found in various church records and municipal archives from towns and villages across central and northern Germany during this period.

In the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the Gerstein surname was Johannes Gerstein, a Lutheran theologian and author who lived from 1614 to 1676. He wrote several influential works on theology and Christian doctrine during the Protestant Reformation.

Another early Gerstein of note was Heinrich Gerstein, a German businessman and writer who lived from 1797 to 1864. He is best known for his travel memoirs and accounts of his experiences in the Americas, where he spent several years traveling and conducting business in the early 19th century.

In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the Gerstein surname was Kurt Gerstein, a German SS officer who served during World War II. Born in 1905, Gerstein became a dissenter within the Nazi regime and worked to expose the atrocities of the Holocaust to the outside world, providing crucial eyewitness testimony and evidence to Allied forces.

Another notable Gerstein from more recent history is Helmut Gerstein, a German-American engineer and inventor born in 1908. He is credited with developing several important innovations in the field of air conditioning and refrigeration technology, including the first practical automotive air conditioning system.

While the origins of the Gerstein name can be traced back to medieval Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and the world through migration and diaspora. However, the earliest documented references and historical figures bearing this surname are predominantly found in the German-speaking regions of Central Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gerstein

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

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

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

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