The Kersten surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,669 people carried this name — #8,920 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 80,600 people counted. That is up 17% from 3,132 in 2000.

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In Belgium’s population register

At least 257 people named Kersten live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Liège 100
Limburg 100
Walloon Brabant 17
Luxembourg Province 12
Antwerp 11
Brussels-Capital 10
Namur 7

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

88 people named Kersten live in Switzerland.

They live in 11 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 25
Aargau 18
Bern 12
Basel-Landschaft 6
St. Gallen 5
Schwyz 5
Lucerne 5
Graubünden 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 36 people named Kersten.

Most of them — 21 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 8 départements, most often Eure.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 21
Eure 5
Doubs 3
Paris 2
Gironde 1
Lozère 1
Moselle 1
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 1
Haut-Rhin 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Poland’s population register

30 people named Kersten have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 67 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Masovian 11
Pomeranian 8
Silesian 7
Lubusz 2
Opole 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

24 people named Kersten is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 24

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Kersten in American newspapers,
1897–1903.

Newspaper page from Rosebud County News carrying the name Kersten
Rosebud County News 1903-08-27
Newspaper page from Rosebud County News carrying the name Kersten
Rosebud County News 1903-07-30
Newspaper page from Der Deutsche Correspondent carrying the name Kersten
Der Deutsche Correspondent 1897-12-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,719 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kersten in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

2,147 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kersten. The most, 869, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,629
South Australia 200
Western Australia 150
Victoria 87
Queensland 40
ACT (Canberra) 26
Tasmania 13

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kersten.

Who carried it

People named Kersten,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Otto Kersten
    Otto Kersten 1839–1900 · chemist
  • Dietrich Kersten 1663–1741 · preacher
  • Conrad Kersten 1683–1759 · banker
  • Abraham Kersten 1733–1796 · merchant
  • Christoph Kersten 1733–1796 · missionary
  • Caspar Kersten 1734–1807 · banker

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kersten,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States762 records

762 records of the Kersten name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 422
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 122
  • Other U.S. records 218
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joseph A. Kersten

    Born 1925 in New York. Enlisted 1943 at Buffalo; aircraft worker from Erie County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Hillcrest Cemetery, Hamburg, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Otto Kersten

    Arrived at New York in 1907 aboard the Graf Waldersee from Hamburg, aged 24; baker. From Prussia, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Lester Joseph Kersten

    Born 1944; from Chicago, Illinois. U.S. Army, radio operator; killed in action 1965 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 762 records for Kersten in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Netherlands20,410 records

20,410 records of the Kersten name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 11,888
  • Dutch population registers 6,704
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1,818
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Mechtilde Kersten

    Married in 1857 in Ottersum; day labourer, born 1813 in Kessel. Died 1891 in Ottersum, aged 78.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Leonard Kersten

    Married in 1901 in Groesbeek; labourer. Died 1908 in Groesbeek, aged 26.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Petrus Johannes Kersten

    Married in 1901 in Deventer; cigar maker. Died 1925 in Deventer, aged 45.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 20,410 records for Kersten in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Germany1,162 records

1,162 records of the Kersten name in Germany
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 1,136
  • German emigration and citizenship files 24
  • German estate files 2
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hugo Kersten

    Born 1890; from Neuenkirchen, Randow. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 15 May 1918; then reported missing in the list of 8 February 1919 (Infantry Regiment No. 49).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Caroline Wilhelmine Kersten

    Emigrated to North America in 1865.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv (CC0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ernst Georg Paul Kersten

    Estate settled in 1907.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0)

Showing 3 of 1,162 records for Kersten in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) · Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Australia50 records

50 records of the Kersten name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 25
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 9
  • Other Australian records 16
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bertha Kersten

    Arrived in Queensland in 1885 aboard the Wistow Hall, aged 20.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Gerard C. Kersten

    Motor mechanic of Seymour, Victoria; died 1975.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Kevin Kersten

    Died 1999; buried at Gungahlin Cemetery, Canberra, ACT.

    ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 50 records for Kersten in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Belgium19 records

19 records of the Kersten name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Alfons Alfred Constant Kersten

    Died 1900 in Overrepen.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Tongeren (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Allard Kersten

    Died 1907 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Marie Kersten

    Married in 1817 in Nerem.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Tongeren (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 19 records for Kersten in Belgium.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France11 records

11 records of the Kersten name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Alfred Jean Kersten

    Born 1912 in Germany; died 1991 in Besançon (Doubs).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Monika Kersten

    Born 1943 in Germany; died 2001 in Luçon (Vendée).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Andre Camille Francois Kersten

    Born 1920 in Belgium; died 2001 in Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Kersten in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Kersten name in Canada Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Nellie Gertrude Kersten

    Died 1918; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kersten.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kersten is.
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