2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Nestingen
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Nestingen or Nestingen-like place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Nestingen. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nestingen 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Nestingen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nestingen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.8%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nestingen
The surname NESTINGEN is of Norwegian origin, deriving from the Old Norse words "nest" meaning "headland" or "promontory" and "eng" meaning "meadow." It is believed to have originated in the 11th or 12th century as a place name, referring to a specific location within Norway.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name NESTINGEN can be found in the Håvamål, an ancient collection of Old Norse poems dating back to around the 9th century. The name appears in verse 37, which mentions a place called "Nestingarvik," likely referring to a bay or inlet near a headland meadow.
In the 13th century, a Norwegian farmer named Torstein NESTINGEN is mentioned in the Gulating Law, one of the oldest provincial laws of Norway. This suggests that the name was already well-established as a surname by this time.
Another notable historical figure bearing the NESTINGEN surname was Ingrid NESTINGEN, a skilled archer who lived in the late 14th century. She is said to have played a pivotal role in defending her village against a group of marauding Vikings, earning her a place in local folklore.
During the 16th century, a merchant named Bjørn NESTINGEN was involved in establishing trade routes between Norway and the Hanseatic League, a powerful economic alliance of merchant guilds and market towns across Northern Europe.
In the 19th century, a Norwegian explorer named Nils NESTINGEN is credited with being one of the first Europeans to document the existence of the Bering Strait, which separates the easternmost point of Asia from the westernmost point of North America.
Throughout its history, the NESTINGEN surname has also been associated with various place names in Norway, such as Nestingdalen (Nestingen Valley), Nestingbakken (Nestingen Hill), and Nestingvika (Nestingen Bay), further solidifying its connection to the geographical features of the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nestingen
Among Census respondents with the surname Nestingen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.8%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Nestingen 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 Nestingen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.6% · 97
- Two or more races9.8% · 11
- Black or African American2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nestingen
Nestingen 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+4 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,445 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,753 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 5,445 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 1,753 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 Nestingen 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 | #146,201 | #147,954 | -1.2% |
| Count | 113 | 112 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nestingen bearers went from 113 to 112 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 1,753 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #147,954.
FAQ
Nestingen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nestingen?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Nestingen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Nestingen?
Nestingen ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Nestingen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Nestingen.
Has Nestingen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nestingen went from 113 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Nestingen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nestingen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.8%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Nestingen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nestingen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.6%), Two or More Races (9.8%), Black (2.7%). 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 Nestingen (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 Nestingen mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Nestingen or Nestingen-like place. 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 Nestingen (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 common is the surname Nestingen?
You can see how many people have the surname Nestingen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.