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

Kyser, 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 Kyser surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kyser in America

Kyser is the 10499th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kyser surname appeared 3,056 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 Kyser.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kyser 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 Kyser

The surname Kyser is of German origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the German word "keiser" or "kaiser," meaning "emperor" or "king." This suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon someone who worked for or was associated with the imperial court or a royal household.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the region of Bavaria in southern Germany. Some of the earliest spellings include Kyser, Keyser, and Keiser. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling and record-keeping during that time period.

One of the earliest documented references to the name Kyser can be found in the records of the town of Augsburg, where a certain Hans Kyser was mentioned in a legal document dated 1578. Another notable early record is a birth certificate from the year 1612 in the city of Munich, which lists the name Johann Keyser.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name began to spread beyond Bavaria as families migrated to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries. During this time, the name appeared in various records, such as church registers and tax rolls, in cities like Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Vienna.

One notable bearer of the name was Friedrich Kyser (1762-1832), a German composer and music theorist from the city of Dresden. He is known for his contributions to the development of musical theory and the teaching of harmony.

Another prominent figure with the surname Kyser was Johannes Kyser (1605-1672), a German theologian and philosopher from Nuremberg. He was a notable figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several influential works on theology and ethics.

In the 19th century, the name Kyser gained recognition with the birth of Johann Friedrich Kyser (1821-1898), a German-American businessman and politician. He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1800s and became a successful entrepreneur in the brewing industry, eventually serving as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Throughout history, the surname Kyser has also been associated with various place names, such as the town of Kaiserswerth in Germany, which means "emperor's island" or "emperor's residence." This connection further reinforces the name's ties to royal or imperial associations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kyser

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

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

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

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