Kister surname: U.S. census count, rank and records | FamilyCrests

The Kister surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 668 people carried this name — #34,032 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 434,800 people counted. That is down 4% from 698 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Kister surname

Borrowed from German Kister, an abbreviation of Christopher.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kister» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Poland’s population register

405 people named Kister have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 462 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lublin.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Lublin 248
Masovian 37
Silesian 22
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 18
Pomeranian 17
Lower Silesian 13
Greater Poland 12
Lubusz 10

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

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 164 people named Kister.

6 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 17 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 6
Bas-Rhin 65
Moselle 31
Paris 15
Marne 14
Meurthe-et-Moselle 8
Haut-Rhin 5
Meuse 5
Vosges 4

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

30 people named Kister live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 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 10
Aargau 6
Basel-Landschaft 4
Geneva 4
Bern 3
Valais 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.

Who carried it

People named Kister,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Georges Kister 1755–1832 · aristocrat
  • Marian Kister 1897–1958 · publisher
  • Hanna Kister 1902–1997 · publisher
  • Meir Jacob Kister 1914–2010 · translator
  • Michel Kister 1931–2019 · teacher
  • Kenneth Kister 1935–2022 · librarian

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kister.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kister is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See what a volume holds
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