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

Kesler, 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 Kesler surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kesler in America

Kesler is the 5210th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kesler surname appeared 6,704 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Kesler.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kesler 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 Kesler

The surname Kesler is of German origin, derived from the occupational name for a maker or seller of cheese (käse in German). It first emerged in the 14th century in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to 1387, when a certain Johannes Keysler was mentioned in the town records of Regensburg, Bavaria. Similar variations like Keisler, Keissler, and Keußler were also found in other parts of southern Germany during this period.

In 1492, a certain Hans Kesler was listed as a resident of Nuremberg, a prominent city in the Holy Roman Empire. This suggests that the name was well-established among the urban bourgeoisie by the late 15th century.

The Kesler name also appeared in several historical documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, such as the Kirchenbücher (church records) of various German parishes. One notable example is Johann Kesler, a Lutheran pastor born in Saxony in 1573, who authored several theological works during his lifetime.

As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it became associated with certain place names like Kesselsdorf (a village in Saxony) and Kesseling (a town in Rhineland-Palatinate). These places likely derived their names from the same occupational root as the surname Kesler.

Among the earliest known bearers of the Kesler name was Johann Kesler (1639-1718), a renowned German mathematician and astronomer who served as a professor at the University of Jena. He made significant contributions to the study of optics and the calculation of eclipses.

Another noteworthy figure was Christoph Kesler (1701-1782), a German theologian and educator who served as the rector of the prestigious Thomasschule in Leipzig, where he taught several influential philosophers and writers of the Enlightenment era.

In the 19th century, Carl Kesler (1823-1892) was a prominent German artist known for his landscape paintings and etchings, many of which depicted scenes from the Black Forest region where he lived and worked.

The name Kesler also found its way to other parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands, where a certain Willem Kesler (1847-1921) was a respected lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Dutch parliament.

Overall, the surname Kesler has a rich history rooted in the German-speaking regions of Central Europe, where it emerged as an occupational name for those involved in the cheese-making trade. Through the centuries, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, and public figures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kesler

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

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

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

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