Fun Facts About the Name Carsten
- More than 2 thousand babies named Carsten: U.S. records list 2,375 babies given the name Carsten from 1880 through 2025. Even 10 girls received the name Carsten - about 1 girl for every 237 boys.
What Does the Name Carsten Mean?
Carsten is a German and Scandinavian form of the name Christian, meaning "follower of Christ." It goes back to Latin Christianus, which was taken from Greek christianos, meaning a follower of Christos. Christos translates as "anointed one" and was the Greek word used for the Hebrew mashiach (messiah). The literal sense of the root is therefore "anointed," while the customary meaning of the name as a whole is "Christian," a person belonging to Christ.
Carsten is the form associated with Low German (northern German) usage, and Karsten is the spelling more usual in Denmark and Norway. It is not related to the surname Carson or to names such as Charles and Carl, which come from a different Germanic root meaning "man," despite a similar sound.
Carsten Name History & Origins
The name Christian started as a plain descriptive word for a Christian and was used as a personal name during the Middle Ages across much of Europe. In the Low German speech of northern Germany, the name took the form Carsten or Karsten, with the initial Ch- of Christian simplified and the ending shortened in everyday speech. From the German-speaking north the name passed into Denmark and Norway, where Karsten became the usual spelling and Carsten also appears.
In Denmark the related full form Christian was borne by kings from the 15th century onward, beginning with Christian I, and both the full name and the shortened Carsten/Karsten forms were long established there. The same root appears in the female name Kirsten and in the Dutch word for Christmas, Kerst, but those are separate developments rather than direct sources of Carsten. Carsten is also found as a family name, usually derived from the given name.
How Popular is the Name Carsten?
Carsten has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2011. Its best rank was #1,320 in 2011.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | #15,576 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #16,970 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,272 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2024 | #4,716 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2023 | #3,478 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2022 | #2,970 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 2021 | #3,080 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2020 | #2,472 | 52 | 0.0030% |
| 2019 | #2,316 | 59 | 0.0033% |
| 2018 | #2,286 | 59 | 0.0032% |
| 2017 | #2,807 | 43 | 0.0023% |
| 2016 | #2,092 | 67 | 0.0035% |
| 2015 | #1,791 | 84 | 0.0044% |
| 2014 | #1,658 | 93 | 0.0048% |
| 2013 | #1,500 | 108 | 0.0057% |
| 2012 | #1,368 | 123 | 0.0065% |
| 2011 | #1,320 | 129 | 0.0068% |
| 2010 | #1,425 | 116 | 0.0060% |
| 2009 | #1,708 | 91 | 0.0046% |
| 2008 | #1,441 | 115 | 0.0056% |
| 2007 | #1,594 | 98 | 0.0047% |
| 2006 | #1,740 | 80 | 0.0039% |
| 2005 | #2,087 | 59 | 0.0030% |
| 2004 | #1,819 | 68 | 0.0034% |
| 2003 | #2,057 | 55 | 0.0028% |
| 2002 | #2,256 | 46 | 0.0024% |
| 2001 | #1,987 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 2000 | #2,258 | 43 | 0.0022% |
| 1999 | #2,617 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1998 | #2,400 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1997 | #2,761 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1996 | #3,700 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1995 | #3,448 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1994 | #3,039 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1993 | #3,162 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1992 | #2,918 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1991 | #4,809 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #3,330 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1989 | #5,224 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1988 | #4,495 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1987 | #3,361 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1986 | #3,915 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #4,258 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1983 | #5,001 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #4,197 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1980 | #4,557 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #5,923 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #3,883 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #4,059 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #3,693 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1973 | #3,261 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #2,550 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1971 | #3,704 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1969 | #3,096 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1968 | #3,141 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #3,023 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #2,651 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1965 | #2,814 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #2,324 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1963 | #3,697 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #3,401 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #4,116 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1959 | #4,067 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1954 | #3,900 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1953 | #3,889 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1939 | #3,166 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1935 | #3,314 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1933 | #3,049 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1928 | #3,115 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1927 | #3,838 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #4,293 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1925 | #4,293 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1924 | #4,448 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1923 | #2,793 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1922 | #3,579 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1921 | #3,574 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1920 | #3,889 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #3,153 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1917 | #3,270 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1914 | #3,330 | 5 | 0.0008% |
| 1912 | #2,323 | 6 | 0.0014% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Carsten Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Carsten's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Carsten's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.