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

Kensinger, 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 Kensinger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kensinger in America

Kensinger is the 10122nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kensinger surname appeared 3,184 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 Kensinger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kensinger 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 Kensinger

The surname Kensinger originated from the German language and it is believed to have first appeared in the 12th century in the region of Bavaria, Germany. Kensinger is derived from the Old German words "kien" meaning pine tree and "singen" meaning to sing or reside. As such, it is thought that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a pine forest or in a place with an abundance of pine trees.

Some of the earliest records of the name Kensinger can be found in medieval German texts and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries. However, it is not known if the name appeared in any significant historical records such as the Domesday Book from 1086.

The first recorded instance of the name Kensinger is believed to be Hans Kensinger, who was born in the town of Augsburg, Bavaria, in 1402. Another early bearer of the name was Wilhelm Kensinger, who was a merchant and landowner in the city of Nuremberg in the late 15th century.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Kensinger began to spread throughout other parts of Germany and parts of Europe as people migrated and settled in new areas. Some variations of the name that emerged during this time include Kensinger, Kensingher, and Kensinga.

One notable person with the surname Kensinger was Johann Kensinger, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1589 to 1662. He was known for his writings on religious reform and his contributions to the development of Protestant theology.

Another individual with the name Kensinger was Hans Kensinger, a German explorer who was part of an expedition to the Americas in the late 17th century. He is credited with being one of the first Europeans to document the indigenous cultures and landscapes of what is now known as the southeastern United States.

In the 18th century, the name Kensinger began to appear in records from other parts of Europe, including France and England. One example is Charles Kensinger, a French military officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s.

As the name spread beyond Germany, it also evolved into various spellings and variations based on the local languages and dialects. For instance, in England, the name was sometimes spelled as Kensinger or Kenzinger.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kensinger

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

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

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

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