2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kastenholz
A surname of German origin meaning "box of wood" or "wooden crate".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Kastenholz. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kastenholz 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Kastenholz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kastenholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kastenholz
The surname KASTENHOLZ is of German origin, deriving from the Old Germanic words "kasto" meaning "box" or "chest" and "holz" meaning "wood." This combination suggests that the name may have originally referred to a maker of wooden boxes or chests, or someone who lived near a wooded area where such items were crafted.
The earliest known record of the KASTENHOLZ surname dates back to the 16th century in the region of Saxony, Germany. In 1567, a document from the town of Zwickau mentions a Johann KASTENHOLZ, a carpenter by trade.
In the 17th century, the KASTENHOLZ name appears in various church records and legal documents across central Germany, particularly in the states of Saxony and Thuringia. Notable individuals from this era include Hans KASTENHOLZ (1612-1679), a prominent merchant in Leipzig, and Anna Maria KASTENHOLZ (1648-1722), a respected midwife in the town of Erfurt.
By the 18th century, the KASTENHOLZ surname had spread to other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring regions such as Silesia (now part of Poland) and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Johann Friedrich KASTENHOLZ (1734-1809) was a renowned clockmaker in Vienna, while Carl August KASTENHOLZ (1776-1853) served as a mayor in the town of Meiningen, Thuringia.
During the 19th century, several members of the KASTENHOLZ family made significant contributions to various fields. Ernst KASTENHOLZ (1819-1892) was a celebrated painter and illustrator in Dresden, while his brother, Wilhelm KASTENHOLZ (1823-1899), became a respected professor of philosophy at the University of Leipzig.
As migration from Europe to other parts of the world increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the KASTENHOLZ surname spread further afield. One notable figure was Franz KASTENHOLZ (1888-1961), a German-born engineer who played a key role in the construction of the Panama Canal.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kastenholz
Among Census respondents with the surname Kastenholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kastenholz 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 Kastenholz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 101
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kastenholz
Kastenholz 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+12 bearers (+11.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,560 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-12 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,707 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.1%) | Up 2,560 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 11,707 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 Kastenholz 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 | #139,228 | #150,935 | -8.4% |
| Count | 120 | 108 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kastenholz bearers went from 120 to 108 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 11,707 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #150,935.
FAQ
Kastenholz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kastenholz?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Kastenholz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Kastenholz?
Kastenholz ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 108 people with the surname Kastenholz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Kastenholz.
Has Kastenholz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kastenholz went from 120 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Kastenholz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kastenholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Kastenholz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kastenholz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Kastenholz (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 Kastenholz mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "box of wood" or "wooden crate". 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 Kastenholz (0.04 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 last name Kastenholz?
Want to know how many people have the surname Kastenholz? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.