2000
#8,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,540
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Kessinger
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of copper cooking vessels or cauldrons.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,040 Americans carry the last name Kessinger. That puts it at #8,915 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 84,840 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kessinger 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
4.0K
1 in 84,840
Census rank
#8,915
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,523 bearers of the surname Kessinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8915th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kessinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kessinger
The surname Kessinger is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known roots dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Kesselring," which translates to "a maker or seller of cauldrons or kettles." This occupational surname was likely given to an individual who worked as a coppersmith or a metalworker specializing in the production of these vessels.
The name Kessinger can be found in various historical records from the regions of Bavaria and Württemberg in southern Germany. One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname appears in the town of Nürnberg in 1548, where a blacksmith named Hans Kessinger was mentioned in the local guild registry.
As the name spread across different regions, it underwent several spelling variations, such as Kesselring, Kesselringer, and Kessinger. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and the phonetic preferences of the scribes who recorded the names.
In the 17th century, the Kessinger name appeared in the records of the Thirty Years' War, a conflict that ravaged much of central Europe between 1618 and 1648. A notable figure from this period was Johann Kessinger (1587-1647), a military commander who fought for the Protestant forces during the war.
Another notable bearer of this surname was Friedrich Kessinger (1701-1778), a German botanist and horticulturist who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and the cultivation of rare species.
As the Kessinger family spread across Europe and beyond, several individuals with this surname left their mark on various fields. Among them was Johann Kessinger (1823-1897), a German-American artist known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West.
In the 20th century, one of the most prominent figures with the Kessinger surname was William Kessinger (1919-2008), an American musician and pioneer of bluegrass music. He was widely regarded as one of the finest mandolin players of his time and influenced countless musicians in the genre.
Another notable individual was Hans Kessinger (1922-2003), a German-born author and historian who wrote extensively on the history of the Third Reich and the Holocaust. His works shed light on the atrocities committed during that period and played a crucial role in preserving the memory of those events.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kessinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Kessinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kessinger 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 Kessinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 3,172
- Two or more races4.0% · 141
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 118
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 33
- Black or African American0.6% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kessinger
Kessinger 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
#7,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,170
+630 bearers (+17.8%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Up 633 places
2020
#8,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,523
-647 bearers (-15.5%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 982 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,566 | 3,540 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,933 | 4,170 | 1.41 | +630 bearers (+17.8%) | Up 633 places |
| 2020 | #8,915 | 3,523 | 1.18 | -647 bearers (-15.5%) | Down 982 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 Kessinger 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 | #7,933 | #8,915 | -12.4% |
| Count | 4,170 | 3,523 | -15.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.41 | 1.18 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kessinger bearers went from 4,170 to 3,523 (-15.5% change). The surname moved down 982 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,933 to #8,915.
FAQ
Kessinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kessinger?
Name Census estimates that about 4,040 living Americans carry the surname Kessinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 84,840 residents.
How common is Kessinger?
Kessinger ranks #8,915 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.18 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 3,523 people with the surname Kessinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,040), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.18 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 Kessinger.
Has Kessinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kessinger went from 4,170 recorded bearers to 3,523. That is a decrease of 647 (-15.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,933 to #8,915.
What does the Census say about the background of Kessinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kessinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Kessinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (3,172 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kessinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Kessinger (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 Kessinger mean?
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of copper cooking vessels or cauldrons. 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 Kessinger (1.18 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 people are called Kessinger?
You can see how common the surname Kessinger is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.