2000
#5,749
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,519
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.05
Rare Last name
Nester
A surname derived from a nickname for a person who enjoyed debating or was argumentative.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,841 Americans carry the last name Nester. That puts it at #6,417 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,681 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nester 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Nester with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.8K
1 in 58,681
Census rank
#6,417
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,094 bearers of the surname Nester in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6417th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nester, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nester
The surname Nester has its roots in Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for a nest-maker or a person who collected bird nests for various purposes.
The word "Nester" is derived from the Slavic term "gniazdo," meaning "nest." This occupation was quite common in rural areas during the Middle Ages when bird nests were used for various purposes, including as a source of food and in traditional medicine.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nester can be found in the Metryka Litewska, a collection of historical documents from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, dating back to the 15th century. This suggests that the name had already become established in the region by that time.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name Nester was Nester Malevich (c. 1530 - c. 1600), a prominent merchant and landowner from the city of Lviv, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Another historical figure associated with the name Nester is Nester Kukolnik (1809 - 1868), a Russian dramatist and poet who wrote numerous plays and poems that reflected the social and political issues of his time.
The name Nester also appears in various place names throughout Eastern Europe, such as the village of Nesterov in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, which was likely named after a person with this surname.
It's worth noting that variations of the name, such as Nestorov, Nestorowicz, and Nestorovych, can also be found in historical records from the region.
Other notable individuals with the surname Nester include:
1. Nester Buchenevich (c. 1600 - c. 1670), a Belarusian noble and landowner.
2. Nester Toropov (1784 - 1858), a Russian painter and architect.
3. Nester Makhno (1888 - 1934), a Ukrainian revolutionary and anarchist leader.
4. Nester Shmelev (1936 - 2022), a Russian novelist and short story writer.
5. Nester Milenki (1955 - 2018), a Polish artist and sculptor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nester
Among Census respondents with the surname Nester, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Nester 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 Nester surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 4,740
- Two or more races3.0% · 151
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 107
- Black or African American1.0% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nester
Nester 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
#5,903
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,847
+328 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.98
Rank movement Down 154 places
2020
#6,417
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,094
-753 bearers (-12.9%)
Per 100,000 1.70
Rank movement Down 514 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,749 | 5,519 | 2.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,903 | 5,847 | 1.98 | +328 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 154 places |
| 2020 | #6,417 | 5,094 | 1.70 | -753 bearers (-12.9%) | Down 514 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 Nester 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 | #5,903 | #6,417 | -8.7% |
| Count | 5,847 | 5,094 | -12.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.98 | 1.70 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nester bearers went from 5,847 to 5,094 (-12.9% change). The surname moved down 514 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,903 to #6,417.
FAQ
Nester surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nester?
Name Census estimates that about 5,841 living Americans carry the surname Nester. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,681 residents.
How common is Nester?
Nester ranks #6,417 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,094 people with the surname Nester. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,841), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Nester.
Has Nester become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nester went from 5,847 recorded bearers to 5,094. That is a decrease of 753 (-12.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,903 to #6,417.
What does the Census say about the background of Nester?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nester, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Nester in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (4,740 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nester appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Nester (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 Nester mean?
A surname derived from a nickname for a person who enjoyed debating or was argumentative. 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 Nester (1.70 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 have the last name Nester?
You can see how many people have the surname Nester on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.