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

Kisner, 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 Kisner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kisner in America

Kisner is the 9548th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kisner surname appeared 3,405 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 Kisner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kisner 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 Kisner

The surname Kisner is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the region of Bavaria. It is thought to have derived from the German word "Kiesen," which means "gravel" or "pebbles." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational name for someone who worked with gravel or stones, perhaps a mason or a quarry worker.

The earliest known record of the Kisner name dates back to the late 15th century, with a mention of a Hanns Kisner in the town records of Nürnberg, Bavaria, in 1487. Over the following centuries, various spellings of the name appeared in different regions of Germany, such as Kiesner, Kiessner, and Kiesener.

In the 16th century, the name Kisner appeared in the records of the city of Augsburg, Bavaria, with a mention of a Peter Kisner in 1562. This suggests that the name had spread to other parts of the region by this time.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Kisner name was Johann Kisner, a German painter and engraver who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was born in Nürnberg in 1571 and is known for his portraits and religious paintings.

Another notable figure with the Kisner surname was Georg Kisner, a German philosopher and theologian who lived in the 17th century. He was born in Nürnberg in 1630 and made significant contributions to the field of Protestant theology.

In the 18th century, the name Kisner appeared in records from the town of Erlangen, Bavaria, with a mention of a Johann Michael Kisner in 1735. This suggests that the name continued to be prevalent in the region during this time period.

A notable bearer of the Kisner name in the 19th century was Karl Kisner, a German composer and music teacher who lived from 1819 to 1892. He was born in Nürnberg and composed several works for piano and orchestra.

As the Kisner family spread throughout Germany and eventually to other parts of Europe and the world, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Kiesner, Kiessner, and Kiesener, as mentioned earlier. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in the German word "Kiesen," referring to gravel or pebbles.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kisner

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!