2000
#14,137
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,952
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Karsten
Derived from a German personal name composed of the elements 'kar' meaning "man" and 'sten' meaning "stone".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,224 Americans carry the last name Karsten. That puts it at #14,704 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,116 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karsten 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
2.2K
1 in 154,116
Census rank
#14,704
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,939 bearers of the surname Karsten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14704th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karsten, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Karsten
The surname Karsten is of German origin, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a locational name, derived from the Low German word "Karsten," which refers to a place where pine trees or fir trees grew abundantly.
The name is thought to have originated in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in areas like Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg, where pine forests were plentiful. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries, with various spellings like Karsten, Karsten, and Karsten appearing in historical records.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Henricus Karsten, a merchant from Lübeck, who was mentioned in a document dated 1292. Another notable figure was Johannes Karsten, a Protestant reformer from Rostock, who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
In the 16th century, the name Karsten appeared in the records of the city of Hamburg, where several families with this surname were documented. One prominent individual was Hinrich Karsten, a merchant and alderman who lived from 1528 to 1604.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name spread beyond northern Germany, with individuals bearing the Karsten surname found in various parts of the country. One notable example was Johann Philipp Karsten, a German chemist and mineralogist born in 1766, who made significant contributions to the study of minerals and their classification.
Another notable figure was Gustav Karsten, a German naturalist and explorer who lived from 1820 to 1900. He traveled extensively in South America and made important discoveries in the fields of botany and geology.
As the centuries progressed, the Karsten surname continued to spread across Europe and beyond, with individuals bearing this name found in countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, and even as far as the United States and Canada, where German immigrants settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karsten
Among Census respondents with the surname Karsten, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Karsten 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 Karsten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 1,788
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 61
- Two or more races3.0% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 17
- Black or African American0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karsten
Karsten 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
#11,919
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,627
+675 bearers (+34.6%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 2,218 places
2020
#14,704
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,939
-688 bearers (-26.2%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 2,785 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,137 | 1,952 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,919 | 2,627 | 0.89 | +675 bearers (+34.6%) | Up 2,218 places |
| 2020 | #14,704 | 1,939 | 0.65 | -688 bearers (-26.2%) | Down 2,785 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 Karsten 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 | #11,919 | #14,704 | -23.4% |
| Count | 2,627 | 1,939 | -26.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.65 | -27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karsten bearers went from 2,627 to 1,939 (-26.2% change). The surname moved down 2,785 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,919 to #14,704.
FAQ
Karsten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karsten?
Name Census estimates that about 2,224 living Americans carry the surname Karsten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,116 residents.
How common is Karsten?
Karsten ranks #14,704 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 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 1,939 people with the surname Karsten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,224), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 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 Karsten.
Has Karsten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karsten went from 2,627 recorded bearers to 1,939. That is a decrease of 688 (-26.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,919 to #14,704.
What does the Census say about the background of Karsten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karsten, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Karsten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (1,788 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karsten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (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 Karsten (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 Karsten mean?
Derived from a German personal name composed of the elements 'kar' meaning "man" and 'sten' meaning "stone". 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 Karsten (0.65 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 have the surname Karsten?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.