Explore the Family Name Kempster

The meaning of Kempster

English: occupational name for a wool or flax comber, Middle English kem(be)stere (an agent derivative of Old English cemban ‘to comb’). Although this was originally a feminine form of the masculine kembere, by the Middle English period the suffix -stre had lost its feminine force, and the term was used to refer to both sexes. Compare Baxter, Brewster, Dexter.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kempster in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Kempster has seen a rise in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 76,465th most popular surname, while by 2010, it climbed up to the 70,833rd position, representing a 7.37% increase. The count of individuals with this surname also increased from 234 in 2000 to 276 in 2010, showing a significant surge of 17.95%. Despite these changes, the proportion per 100,000 people remained stable at 0.09.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#76,465	#70,833	7.37%
Count	234	276	17.95%
Proportion per 100k	0.09	0.09	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kempster

Regarding the ethnic identity associated with the surname Kempster, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals identify as White, although the percentage decreased slightly from 96.58% in 2000 to 94.57% in 2010. Meanwhile, there were no recorded individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in both years. However, some diversification is observed as by 2010, 2.54% identified with two or more races and 2.17% identified as Black, which were not present in 2000.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.58%	94.57%	-2.08%
Two or More Races	0%	2.54%	0%
Black	0%	2.17%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%