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

Kestner, 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 Kestner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kestner in America

Kestner is the 13023rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kestner surname appeared 2,358 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 Kestner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kestner 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 Kestner

The surname Kestner is of German origin, derived from the Low German word "Kester," which means chestnut tree. It is believed to have originated in the 14th century and was likely used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near or worked with chestnut trees.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kestner can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, where a person named Hans Kestner was mentioned in 1427. The name was also present in other regions of Germany, such as Saxony and Bavaria, during the 15th and 16th centuries.

In the 16th century, the name Kestner was sometimes spelled as "Kestener" or "Kestener," reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation that existed at the time. Additionally, the name was occasionally associated with the place name "Kesten," which was a village in the region of Thuringia, Germany.

One notable figure with the surname Kestner was Johann Christian Kestner (1741-1800), a German writer and diplomat who served as the secretary of the Hanoverian legation in London. He is best known for his association with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who based the character of Eduard in his novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther" on Kestner.

Another prominent individual with the Kestner surname was August Kestner (1777-1853), a German painter and art collector. He was instrumental in establishing the Kestner Museum in Hanover, which houses a significant collection of artworks and artifacts.

In the 19th century, the Kestner family played a significant role in the industrial development of Germany. Carl Remigius Kestner (1805-1875) was a successful industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Kestner Nordhausen AG, a company that manufactured glass and ceramic products.

Moving into the 20th century, Paul Kestner (1901-1992) was a German-American engineer and inventor who made notable contributions to the development of air conditioning and refrigeration systems. He held numerous patents and played a crucial role in advancing modern cooling technologies.

While the surname Kestner is not as common as some other German names, it has a rich history and has been associated with notable figures in various fields, including literature, art, industry, and engineering, throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kestner

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

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

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

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