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

Nestlé, 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 Nestlé surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nestlé in America

Nestlé is the 39717th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nestlé surname appeared 553 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Nestlé.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nestlé 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 Nestlé

The surname Nestle is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "nestelen," which means "to nest" or "to build a nest." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a bird's nest or had a particular connection to nests.

The earliest recorded instances of the Nestle surname date back to the 13th century in the regions of Bavaria and Württemberg in southern Germany. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Heinrich Nestle, a merchant from the city of Nuremberg, who was mentioned in historical records from around 1265.

In the 14th century, the Nestle name appeared in various medieval documents and tax records across different parts of Germany, indicating its widespread use during that time period. For example, a farmer named Hans Nestle was recorded in the village of Rottenburg am Neckar in 1378.

The Nestle surname has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such person was Johann Nestle, a German Protestant theologian born in 1777, who is known for his work on biblical criticism and textual studies.

Another prominent figure with this surname was Eberhard Nestle, a German biblical scholar and textual critic born in 1851. He is renowned for his contributions to the study of the New Testament and for his work on the critical edition of the Greek New Testament.

In the early 19th century, a man named Henri Nestle founded the renowned Swiss food and beverage company Nestlé, which has since become one of the largest multinational corporations in the world. Henri Nestle was born in 1814 in Frankfurt, Germany, and later moved to Switzerland, where he began his successful business venture.

Variations and alternative spellings of the Nestle surname have been documented over the centuries, including Nestell, Nestelen, and Nestler. These variations often reflect regional dialects and linguistic variations within different German-speaking areas.

While the Nestle surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and the world, carried by families and individuals who have migrated or established themselves in different regions over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nestlé

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

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

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

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