2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gestl
A German surname derived from the word "Gast" meaning guest or stranger.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Gestl. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gestl 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Gestl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gestl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gestl
The surname GESTL originates from the German language and regions. It is believed to have first emerged in the early medieval period, around the 8th or 9th century AD, in what is now modern-day Germany and Austria.
The name GESTL is thought to be derived from the Old High German word "gast", meaning "guest" or "stranger". This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who was a visitor or newcomer to a particular area or town.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GESTL can be found in a manuscript from the Benedictine monastery of St. Gallen, Switzerland, dating back to the 9th century. The document mentions a man named "Gasto" who may have been an early bearer of the surname.
Another notable early reference to the name GESTL is in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicorum, a collection of historical records from the region of Westphalia, Germany, compiled in the 12th century. Here, the name appears as "Gestele".
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Konrad von Gestelen is documented as owning land near the town of Gestel, which is now part of the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. This place name may be related to the surname GESTL, suggesting a connection to a specific location.
A few prominent individuals with the surname GESTL throughout history include:
1. Johannes Gestl (c. 1415 - 1482), a German composer and music theorist from Nuremberg.
2. Hans Gestl (1540 - 1618), a German painter and engraver active in Augsburg during the Renaissance period.
3. Maria Gestl (1676 - 1749), an Austrian painter known for her religious works and portraits.
4. Johann Gestl (1802 - 1878), a German architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Munich.
5. Alois Gestl (1868 - 1942), an Austrian sculptor and woodcarver from Tyrol, known for his intricate religious carvings.
While the surname GESTL has its roots in the German-speaking regions of Europe, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gestl
Among Census respondents with the surname Gestl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Gestl 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 Gestl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 89
- Two or more races7.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gestl
Gestl appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-14 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 9,804 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 9,804 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 Gestl 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 | #146,201 | #156,005 | -6.7% |
| Count | 113 | 99 | -12.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gestl bearers went from 113 to 99 (-12.4% change). The surname moved down 9,804 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #156,005.
FAQ
Gestl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gestl?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Gestl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Gestl?
Gestl ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 99 people with the surname Gestl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Gestl.
Has Gestl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gestl went from 113 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 14 (-12.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Gestl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gestl, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Gestl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gestl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (7.1%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Gestl (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 Gestl mean?
A German surname derived from the word "Gast" meaning guest or stranger. 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 Gestl (0.03 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 are called Gestl?
Find out how many people have the surname Gestl on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.