2000
#15,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,767
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.66
Rare Last name
Karst
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived on barren, limestone terrain characterized by underground drainage.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,049 Americans carry the last name Karst. That puts it at #15,731 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 167,279 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karst surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.0K
1 in 167,279
Census rank
#15,731
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,787 bearers of the surname Karst in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15731st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karst, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Karst
The surname KARST originated in Germany and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "karst" meaning "infertile, rocky ground". This word later gave rise to the geographical term "karst" referring to a limestone landscape characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage systems.
The earliest recorded instances of the name KARST can be found in various medieval German records and documents. One notable example is the mention of a Konrad Karst in a 13th-century manuscript from the city of Nuremberg. Another early reference is a Henrich Karst, who appears in a 1427 land registry from the town of Meiningen.
The name KARST is closely associated with several place names in Germany, particularly in regions with karst topography. For instance, the town of Karstädt in Brandenburg takes its name from the geological feature, and there is a village called Karst in the Harz Mountains of Saxony-Anhalt.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname KARST. One of the earliest was Johann Baptist Karst (1508-1567), a German Catholic theologian and author from Bamberg. In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Karst (1723-1792) was a renowned German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Jena.
Moving into the 19th century, Karl Adolf Karst (1837-1891) was a German entomologist and arachnologist who made significant contributions to the study of spiders and scorpions. Another notable figure was Gustav Karst (1853-1936), a German botanist and mycologist who specialized in the study of fungi, particularly those found in the Caribbean region.
In the 20th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the surname KARST was Hermann Karst (1906-1975), a German geologist and speleologist who pioneered the scientific study of karst landscapes and cave formations. His work laid the foundation for modern karstology, the branch of geomorphology that deals with the study of karst terrains.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the surname KARST, which has its roots firmly planted in the German language and landscape.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karst
Among Census respondents with the surname Karst, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Karst bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Karst surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 1,656
- Two or more races3.4% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 46
- Black or African American0.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karst
Karst appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#15,066
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,958
+191 bearers (+10.8%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 203 places
2020
#15,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,787
-171 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 665 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,269 | 1,767 | 0.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,066 | 1,958 | 0.66 | +191 bearers (+10.8%) | Up 203 places |
| 2020 | #15,731 | 1,787 | 0.60 | -171 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 665 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Karst surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,066 | #15,731 | -4.4% |
| Count | 1,958 | 1,787 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.60 | -9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karst bearers went from 1,958 to 1,787 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 665 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,066 to #15,731.
FAQ
Karst surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karst?
Name Census estimates that about 2,049 living Americans carry the surname Karst. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 167,279 residents.
How common is Karst?
Karst ranks #15,731 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,787 people with the surname Karst. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,049), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Karst.
Has Karst become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karst went from 1,958 recorded bearers to 1,787. That is a decrease of 171 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,066 to #15,731.
What does the Census say about the background of Karst?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karst, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Karst in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (1,656 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karst appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Karst (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Karst mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived on barren, limestone terrain characterized by underground drainage. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Karst (0.60 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Karst?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Karst is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.