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

Kersten, 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 Kersten surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kersten in America

Kersten is the 8920th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kersten surname appeared 3,669 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 Kersten.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kersten 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 Kersten

The surname Kersten originated in Germany and is believed to have derived from the Old German word "Kerste," which means "Christian." This name was likely given to individuals who were among the first Christians in their community or region.

The earliest known record of the name Kersten dates back to the 12th century in the region of Saxony, Germany. It is thought to have been used as a baptismal name before becoming a hereditary surname.

In the 13th century, the name Kersten appeared in various historical records, including the Chronicles of the Teutonic Knights, which mention a knight named Kersten von Bremervörde who fought in the Prussian Crusades.

One of the earliest documented instances of the surname Kersten is found in the Liber Census Daniae, a census record from the late 13th century in Denmark. This record lists several individuals with the surname Kersten living in the town of Ribe.

Over the centuries, the surname Kersten has been subject to various spelling variations, including Kersten, Kersten, Kerstens, and Kerstener, among others. These variations often occurred due to regional dialects or transcription errors in historical records.

Notable individuals with the surname Kersten include:

1. Hans Kersten (1892-1976), a German diplomat and writer who served as the Reichskommissar for the Netherlands during World War II.

2. Felix Kersten (1898-1960), a Finnish-born masseur and confidant of Heinrich Himmler, who played a role in saving thousands of lives during the Holocaust.

3. Kurt Kersten (1891-1962), a German naval officer and author who wrote several books on naval history and strategy.

4. Joachim Kersten (1499-1584), a German Lutheran theologian and reformer who served as the superintendent of the Duchy of Pomerania.

5. Anita Kersten (born 1965), a German sprint canoer who won multiple medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships in the 1980s and 1990s.

The surname Kersten has also been associated with various place names, such as Kerstenhausen, a village in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, and Kerstenbroich, a district of the city of Erkelenz in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kersten

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!