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

Karst, 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 Karst surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Karst in America

Karst is the 15066th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Karst surname appeared 1,958 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 Karst.

We can also compare 2010 data for Karst 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 Karst

The surname KARST originated in Germany and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "karst" meaning "infertile, rocky ground". This word later gave rise to the geographical term "karst" referring to a limestone landscape characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage systems.

The earliest recorded instances of the name KARST can be found in various medieval German records and documents. One notable example is the mention of a Konrad Karst in a 13th-century manuscript from the city of Nuremberg. Another early reference is a Henrich Karst, who appears in a 1427 land registry from the town of Meiningen.

The name KARST is closely associated with several place names in Germany, particularly in regions with karst topography. For instance, the town of Karstädt in Brandenburg takes its name from the geological feature, and there is a village called Karst in the Harz Mountains of Saxony-Anhalt.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname KARST. One of the earliest was Johann Baptist Karst (1508-1567), a German Catholic theologian and author from Bamberg. In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Karst (1723-1792) was a renowned German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Jena.

Moving into the 19th century, Karl Adolf Karst (1837-1891) was a German entomologist and arachnologist who made significant contributions to the study of spiders and scorpions. Another notable figure was Gustav Karst (1853-1936), a German botanist and mycologist who specialized in the study of fungi, particularly those found in the Caribbean region.

In the 20th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the surname KARST was Hermann Karst (1906-1975), a German geologist and speleologist who pioneered the scientific study of karst landscapes and cave formations. His work laid the foundation for modern karstology, the branch of geomorphology that deals with the study of karst terrains.

These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the surname KARST, which has its roots firmly planted in the German language and landscape.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Karst

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

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

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

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