2000
#13,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,154
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Quast
A German occupational surname referring to a person who made brushes or brooms from twigs or bristles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,500 Americans carry the last name Quast. That puts it at #13,367 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,102 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quast 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
2.5K
1 in 137,102
Census rank
#13,367
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,180 bearers of the surname Quast in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13367th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quast, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quast
The surname Quast has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Middle Low German word "quast," which means "tassel" or "cluster." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked with tassels or clusters, perhaps in the textile or decorative arts industry.
In the 17th century, the name Quast appeared in various historical records and documents across German-speaking regions, including in church registers and municipal records. One notable example is Johann Quast, a master baker who lived in Lübeck, Germany, in the late 16th century.
The Quast surname also has connections to place names in Germany. For instance, there is a village called Quast in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, which may have influenced the surname's development in that region.
As the centuries passed, the Quast name spread across Europe and beyond. One notable figure was Carl Quast, a German-American architect born in 1837 in Bamberg, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century and designed several notable buildings in San Francisco, including the Old Mint and the Palace Hotel.
In the realm of literature, the German author and dramatist Johann Quast (1840-1906) is worth mentioning. He was born in Arnsberg, Westphalia, and is best known for his plays and novels depicting the lives of ordinary people in his native region.
Another notable individual with the Quast surname was Wilhelm Quast (1872-1924), a German painter and illustrator who worked in a variety of styles, including Impressionism and Expressionism. He was born in Düsseldorf and is known for his landscapes and portraits.
Moving into the 20th century, we have Günter Quast (1926-2005), a German actor and director who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career. He was born in Berlin and is remembered for his roles in productions such as "Die Brücke von Remagen" (1969) and "Die Patriotin" (1979).
These are just a few examples of individuals with the Quast surname who have left their mark on history. While its origins can be traced back to Germany and the meaning of "tassel" or "cluster," the name has since spread globally, with Quast families now found in various parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quast
Among Census respondents with the surname Quast, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Quast 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 Quast surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 2,030
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 73
- Two or more races2.4% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quast
Quast 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
#13,241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,306
+152 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 196 places
2020
#13,367
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,180
-126 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 126 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,045 | 2,154 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,241 | 2,306 | 0.78 | +152 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 196 places |
| 2020 | #13,367 | 2,180 | 0.73 | -126 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 126 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 Quast 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 | #13,241 | #13,367 | -1.0% |
| Count | 2,306 | 2,180 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.73 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quast bearers went from 2,306 to 2,180 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 126 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,241 to #13,367.
FAQ
Quast surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quast?
Name Census estimates that about 2,500 living Americans carry the surname Quast. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,102 residents.
How common is Quast?
Quast ranks #13,367 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,180 people with the surname Quast. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,500), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Quast.
Has Quast become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quast went from 2,306 recorded bearers to 2,180. That is a decrease of 126 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,241 to #13,367.
What does the Census say about the background of Quast?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quast, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Quast in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (2,030 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quast appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Quast (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 Quast mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who made brushes or brooms from twigs or bristles. 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 Quast (0.73 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 surname Quast?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.