Keirsten
A feminine variant of the name Kirsten, of Scandinavian origin meaning "follower of Christ".
Name Census estimates that about 1,328 living Americans carry the first name Keirsten. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keirsten today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keirsten births was 2005 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keirsten. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 258,098 Americans
Peak year
2005
66 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2020 SSA rank
#9,234
Tracked since 1968
Census
Keirsten in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,169 people with the first name Keirsten, which placed it at #11,120 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,120
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,169 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keirsten
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keirsten is White at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Keirsten described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Keirsten at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.9% · 899
- Black or African American10.7% · 125
- Two or more races6.2% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 9
Popularity
Keirsten: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keirsten from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 524 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keirsten by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Keirsten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keirstens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the most babies named Keirsten, while Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keirsten
Keirsten is a feminine given name that originated in the English language. It is a variation of the name Kirstin, which is derived from the Scottish name Kirsty. The name Kirsty itself is a diminutive form of the name Christina, which has its roots in the Greek name Christos, meaning "anointed one" or "Christ."
The earliest known use of the name Keirsten can be traced back to the late 20th century. It is believed to have emerged as a creative spelling variation of the more traditional names Kirsten and Kristin. While the name does not have a significant historical background, it has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Keirsten is in the United States. Keirsten Walters, an American television journalist and news anchor, was born in 1973. She has worked for various news networks, including CNN and Fox News.
Another notable figure named Keirsten is Keirsten Sires, an American actress and model. She was born in 1988 and has appeared in various television shows and films, including "The Mentalist" and "Desperate Housewives."
Keirsten Sires, a Canadian professional basketball player, was born in 1989. She played in the WNBA for teams such as the Phoenix Mercury and the New York Liberty, and also represented Canada in international competitions.
Keirsten Jager is an American diver who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She won a silver medal in the synchronized 3-meter springboard event.
Keirsten Marie Ayres is an American singer-songwriter and actress, known for her work in the pop-rock genre. She was born in 1989 and has released several albums and EPs throughout her career.
It is worth noting that while the name Keirsten has gained popularity in recent times, its origins and historical roots are relatively modern compared to many other given names. However, its connection to the name Christina and its Greek roots add a layer of significance to this contemporary name.
People
Keirsten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keirsten as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Keirsten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keirsten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,328 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keirsten going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 258,098 US residents.
Is Keirsten a common name?
We classify Keirsten as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,370 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keirsten most popular?
The single biggest year for Keirsten was 2005, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keirsten is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keirsten in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,169 people with the name Keirsten, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,120 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Keirsten in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Keirsten?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keirsten leans strongly female. 1,158 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 12 male bearers (1.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Keirsten?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keirsten is White at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Keirsten most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Keirsten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.9% (899 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Keirsten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keirsten a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keirsten in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Keirsten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keirsten in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Keirsten can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Keirsten as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Keirsten on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.