Explore the Family Name Kessen

The meaning of Kessen

1. Scottish (Lanarkshire): Anglicized form of Gaelic Cessán, a side-form of Cessóg, a personal name of unexplained etymology, borne by a 6th-century bishop and martyr. This surname is rare in Britain. 2. North German and Dutch: patronymic from Kes, a pet form of the personal name Christian.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Kessen has seen a decrease in popularity over the years from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked at 46,153, but by 2010, it had dropped to rank 50,851, reflecting a -10.18% change. The count of people who held the last name also decreased during this period, reducing by -5.75% from 435 in 2000 to 410 in 2010. This decrease is further reflected in the proportion per 100k residents, which reduced by -12.5%, from 0.16 in 2000 to 0.14 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#46,153	#50,851	-10.18%
Count	435	410	-5.75%
Proportion per 100k	0.16	0.14	-12.5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kessen

The ethnicity breakdown for the surname Kessen, based on the Decennial U.S. Census, indicates that the majority of individuals with this surname identify as White, with the percentage increasing slightly from 94.02 in 2000 to 95.85 in 2010. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic remained constant between 2000 and 2010, while those identifying as Black saw a 100% decrease, going from 1.15 in 2000 to 0.00 in 2010. Conversely, the percentage of individuals identifying as two or more races saw a decrease, moving from 2.07 in 2000 to 0 in 2010. Similarly, the American Indian and Alaskan Native category saw a slight decrease from 1.84 in 2000 to 1.71 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.02%	95.85%	1.95%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	1.84%	1.71%	-7.07%
Hispanic	0%	1.22%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	2.07%	0%	0%
Black	1.15%	0%	-100%