Explore the Family Name Nest

The meaning of Nest

1. Welsh: from the medieval female personal name Nest, a diminutive of Agnes. 2. German: topographic name from Middle High German nest ‘nest’. 3. German: variant of Nast.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Nest significantly decreased in the United States between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Nest was ranked 40,908th in popularity, with 503 individuals bearing the name. By 2010, the ranking had dropped to 58,042, and the count of individuals with the Nest surname fell to 350. This represents a change of -41.88% in rank and -30.42% in count, demonstrating an overall decline in the prevalence of the surname.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#40,908	#58,042	-41.88%
Count	503	350	-30.42%
Proportion per 100k	0.19	0.12	-36.84%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nest

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Nest also changed during this time period, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, the majority of people with the Nest surname identified as White (76.94%). This proportion slightly increased to 79.14% by 2010. During this same time frame, the percentage of individuals identifying as Black decreased from 15.51% to 11.43%. The Hispanic representation saw a growth of 22.35%, increasing from 5.37% in 2000 to 6.57% in 2010. There was also a small presence of Asian/Pacific Islanders in 2010 within the Nest surname bearers that was not present in the 2000 data, while those identifying as two or more races disappeared from 1.99% in 2000 to 0% in 2010. There were no individuals with the Nest surname who identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	76.94%	79.14%	2.86%
Black	15.51%	11.43%	-26.31%
Hispanic	5.37%	6.57%	22.35%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.43%	0%
Two or More Races	1.99%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%