Explore the Family Name Kersten

The meaning of Kersten

North German and Dutch: from the personal name Kersten, a Low German derivative of Christian (from Latin Christianus) (see Christian). Some characteristic forenames: German Erwin, Gerhard, Kurt, Otto, Ewald, Hans, Udo.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Kersten saw an increase between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Kersten was the 9520th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had risen in the ranks to the 8920th spot, a change of 6.3%. The number of individuals bearing this surname also grew from 3132 in 2000 to 3669 in 2010, marking a significant increase of 17.15%. Furthermore, the proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 also increased by 6.9%, going from 1.16 in 2000 to 1.24 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#9,520	#8,920	6.3%
Count	3,132	3,669	17.15%
Proportion per 100k	1.16	1.24	6.9%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kersten

Looking at the ethnic identity associated with the Kersten surname, according to the Decennial U.S. Census, there have been some considerable changes between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander grew by 63.16%, while those claiming two or more races surged by 85.96%. On the other hand, the proportion identifying as White experienced a slight decline of 1.81%. Hispanics with the Kersten surname marked an increase of 59.60%. Interestingly, the census started recording the Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native populations with this surname in 2010, which were not represented in the 2000 data.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.57%	95.8%	-1.81%
Hispanic	0.99%	1.58%	59.6%
Two or More Races	0.57%	1.06%	85.96%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.57%	0.93%	63.16%
Black	0%	0.33%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.3%	0%