2000
#15,061
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,797
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Kaster
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of chests, boxes, or caskets.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,143 Americans carry the last name Kaster. That puts it at #15,142 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 159,941 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaster 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
2.1K
1 in 159,941
Census rank
#15,142
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,869 bearers of the surname Kaster in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15142nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaster, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaster
The surname Kaster has its origins in Germany, dating back to the late medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "kaste," which referred to a chest or box used for storage. The name may have been occupational in nature, possibly referring to someone who crafted or worked with chests or boxes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kaster can be found in the town of Marburg, in the German state of Hesse, where a man named Hans Kaster was mentioned in a document from the year 1387. This suggests that the name was already well-established in that region by the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Kaster was Johann Kaster, a Lutheran theologian and reformer who lived from 1515 to 1578. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Germany and was a close associate of Martin Luther.
The surname Kaster also appeared in various other German regions, such as Saxony and Bavaria, as evidenced by historical records from the 17th and 18th centuries. For example, a man named Friedrich Kaster was born in Dresden, Saxony, in 1672, and served as a court painter to the Elector of Saxony.
In the 19th century, the surname Kaster gained prominence in the field of music. Carl Kaster, a German composer and violinist, was born in 1837 and is known for his compositions for violin and orchestra. Another notable figure was Wilhelm Kaster, a German opera singer and conductor who lived from 1842 to 1912.
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way to other countries. One example is the Dutch painter Dirk Kaster, who was born in Amsterdam in 1798 and gained recognition for his landscape paintings.
While the surname Kaster is not among the most common surnames globally, it has a rich history rooted in German culture and has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaster
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaster, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaster 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 Kaster surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 1,737
- Two or more races2.9% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 45
- Black or African American0.7% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaster
Kaster 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
#12,616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,453
+656 bearers (+36.5%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Up 2,445 places
2020
#15,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,869
-584 bearers (-23.8%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 2,526 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,061 | 1,797 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,616 | 2,453 | 0.83 | +656 bearers (+36.5%) | Up 2,445 places |
| 2020 | #15,142 | 1,869 | 0.63 | -584 bearers (-23.8%) | Down 2,526 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 Kaster 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 | #12,616 | #15,142 | -20.0% |
| Count | 2,453 | 1,869 | -23.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.63 | -24.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaster bearers went from 2,453 to 1,869 (-23.8% change). The surname moved down 2,526 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,616 to #15,142.
FAQ
Kaster surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaster?
Name Census estimates that about 2,143 living Americans carry the surname Kaster. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 159,941 residents.
How common is Kaster?
Kaster ranks #15,142 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,869 people with the surname Kaster. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,143), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Kaster.
Has Kaster become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaster went from 2,453 recorded bearers to 1,869. That is a decrease of 584 (-23.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,616 to #15,142.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaster?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaster, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Kaster in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (1,737 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaster appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Kaster (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 Kaster mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of chests, boxes, or caskets. 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 Kaster (0.63 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 Americans have the surname Kaster?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.