2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kostan
An Americanized spelling of a Greek surname meaning "from Constantinople."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Kostan. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kostan 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Kostan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kostan, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kostan
The surname KOSTAN has its origins in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in the areas now known as Poland and Ukraine. It is believed to have emerged during the 12th or 13th century, when surnames began to gain popularity among the nobility and landed gentry.
One theory suggests that KOSTAN is derived from the Old Slavic word "kostan," which means "bone" or "skeleton." This might indicate that the name was originally given to someone with a slender or bony physique. Alternatively, it could have been a nickname for a person who worked with bones, such as a butcher or a physician.
In the 15th century, the name KOSTAN appeared in several records from the city of Krakow, Poland. One such record, dated 1487, mentions a merchant named Jakub KOSTAN, who traded in various goods from the Baltic region. This is one of the earliest documented instances of the surname.
During the 16th century, the KOSTAN name spread to other parts of Eastern Europe, including present-day Belarus and Ukraine. In a manuscript from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, dated 1562, a monk named Yevstafiy KOSTAN is mentioned among the brotherhood.
Notable individuals with the surname KOSTAN include:
1. Tomasz KOSTAN (1650-1719), a Polish military commander who fought in the Great Northern War against Sweden.
2. Mariya KOSTAN (1785-1853), a Ukrainian poet and translator whose works were influential in promoting the Ukrainian literary tradition.
3. Andrzej KOSTAN (1904-1981), a Polish architect who designed several prominent buildings in Warsaw during the city's reconstruction after World War II.
4. Nataliya KOSTAN (1924-2005), a Belarusian artist renowned for her vibrant landscape paintings and portraiture.
5. Yuriy KOSTAN (born 1968), a contemporary Ukrainian writer and journalist, known for his novels exploring themes of identity and cultural heritage.
Over the centuries, variations in the spelling of KOSTAN have emerged, such as Kostanek, Kostansky, and Kostanovich, reflecting the diverse geographic distribution of the name across Eastern Europe. While the name is most commonly found in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus, it has also spread to other parts of the world through immigration and diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kostan
Among Census respondents with the surname Kostan, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kostan 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 Kostan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.4% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kostan
Kostan 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-10 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,741 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-5 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,305 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 17,741 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 5,305 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 Kostan 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 | #144,141 | #149,446 | -3.7% |
| Count | 115 | 110 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kostan bearers went from 115 to 110 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 5,305 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #149,446.
FAQ
Kostan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kostan?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Kostan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Kostan?
Kostan ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Kostan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Kostan.
Has Kostan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kostan went from 115 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Kostan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kostan, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Kostan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kostan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.4%), Hispanic (1.8%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Kostan (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 Kostan mean?
An Americanized spelling of a Greek surname meaning "from Constantinople." 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 Kostan (0.04 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 Kostan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.