2000
#12,716
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,230
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Kestner
A German occupational surname derived from the Latin "castrensis," referring to a person who worked in a castle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,499 Americans carry the last name Kestner. That puts it at #13,372 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,157 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kestner 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
2.5K
1 in 137,157
Census rank
#13,372
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,179 bearers of the surname Kestner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13372nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kestner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kestner
Among Census respondents with the surname Kestner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kestner 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 Kestner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.5% · 2,059
- Two or more races2.4% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kestner
Kestner 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
#13,023
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,358
+128 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 307 places
2020
#13,372
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,179
-179 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 349 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,716 | 2,230 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,023 | 2,358 | 0.80 | +128 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 307 places |
| 2020 | #13,372 | 2,179 | 0.73 | -179 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 349 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 Kestner 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 | #13,023 | #13,372 | -2.7% |
| Count | 2,358 | 2,179 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.73 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kestner bearers went from 2,358 to 2,179 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 349 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,023 to #13,372.
FAQ
Kestner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kestner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,499 living Americans carry the surname Kestner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,157 residents.
How common is Kestner?
Kestner ranks #13,372 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,179 people with the surname Kestner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,499), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Kestner.
Has Kestner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kestner went from 2,358 recorded bearers to 2,179. That is a decrease of 179 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,023 to #13,372.
What does the Census say about the background of Kestner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kestner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Kestner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (2,059 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kestner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Kestner (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 Kestner mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Latin "castrensis," referring to a person who worked in a castle. 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 Kestner (0.73 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 share the surname Kestner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.