2000
#5,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,919
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.19
Rare Last name
Kesler
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "kesseler," meaning a cauldron maker or kettle maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,747 Americans carry the last name Kesler. That puts it at #5,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,801 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kesler 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
6.7K
1 in 50,801
Census rank
#5,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,884 bearers of the surname Kesler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kesler, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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The Kesler name also appeared in several historical documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, such as the Kirchenbücher (church records) of various German parishes.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kesler
Among Census respondents with the surname Kesler, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Kesler 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 Kesler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 5,257
- Two or more races3.3% · 196
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 182
- Black or African American2.6% · 154
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kesler
Kesler 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
#5,210
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,704
+785 bearers (+13.3%)
Per 100,000 2.27
Rank movement Up 206 places
2020
#5,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,884
-820 bearers (-12.2%)
Per 100,000 1.97
Rank movement Down 472 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,416 | 5,919 | 2.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,210 | 6,704 | 2.27 | +785 bearers (+13.3%) | Up 206 places |
| 2020 | #5,682 | 5,884 | 1.97 | -820 bearers (-12.2%) | Down 472 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 Kesler 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 | #5,210 | #5,682 | -9.1% |
| Count | 6,704 | 5,884 | -12.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.27 | 1.97 | -13.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kesler bearers went from 6,704 to 5,884 (-12.2% change). The surname moved down 472 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,210 to #5,682.
FAQ
Kesler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kesler?
Name Census estimates that about 6,747 living Americans carry the surname Kesler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,801 residents.
How common is Kesler?
Kesler ranks #5,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,884 people with the surname Kesler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,747), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Kesler.
Has Kesler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kesler went from 6,704 recorded bearers to 5,884. That is a decrease of 820 (-12.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,210 to #5,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Kesler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kesler, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Kesler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (5,257 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kesler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Kesler (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 Kesler mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "kesseler," meaning a cauldron maker or kettle maker. 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 Kesler (1.97 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 Kesler?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.