Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian,^[1] or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include:

Given name

Carsten

• Carsten Höller (born 1961), German artist
• Carsten Jancker (born 1974), German footballer and coach
• Carsten Niebuhr (1733–1815), German mathematician, cartographer, and explorer in the service of Denmark
• Carsten Pohl (born 1965), German basketball coach
• Carsten Charles Sabathia (born 1980), American baseball player
• Carsten Schatz (born 1970), German historian and politician
• Carsten Schneider (born 1976), German politician

Karsten

• Karsten Alnæs (born 1938), Norwegian author, historian, and journalist
• Karsten Andersen (1920–1997), Norwegian conductor
• Big Daddy Karsten (born 1989), 2017 Eurovision Jury List; Norwegian Pre-select for Eurovision (Melodi Grand Prix 2021)
• Karsten Buer (1913–1993), Norwegian harness coach
• Karsten Fonstad (1900–1970), Norwegian politician
• Karsten Forsterling (born 1980), Australian rower
• Karsten Isachsen (1944–2016), Norwegian Lutheran priest, essayist and public speaker
• Karsten Jakobsen (1928–2019), Norwegian engineer
• Karsten Johannessen (1925–2018), Norwegian footballer and coach
• Karsten Kroon (born 29 January 1976), Dutch former professional road bicycle racer
• Karsten Solheim (1911–2000), Norwegian-born American golf club designer and businessman
• Karsten Warholm (born 1996), Norwegian athlete

Surname

• Adrian Karsten (1960–2005), American college football reporter
• Christoffer Christian Karsten (1756–1827), Swedish opera singer
• Ekaterina Karsten (born 1972), Belarusian Olympic rower
• Elisabeth Charlotta Karsten (1783–1856), Swedish painter
• Elke Karsten (born 1995), Argentine handball player
• Frank Karsten (born 1984), Dutch Magic: The Gathering player
• Frank M. Karsten (1913–1992), American politician
• George Karsten (1863–1937), German botanist
• Gustav Karl Wilhelm Hermann Karsten (1817–1908), German botanist and geologist
• Gustav Karsten (1820–1900), German physicist
• Kai Karsten (born 1968), German Olympic sprinter
• Karl Johann Bernhard Karsten (1782–1853), German mineralogist
• Karl G. Karsten (1891–1968), American economist, statistician and businessman
• Petter Adolf Karsten (1834–1917), Finnish mycologist
• Sophie Karsten (1783–1862), Swedish dancer and artist
• Sophie Mariane Karsten (1753–1848), Polish opera singer
• Thomas Karsten (1885–1945), Dutch engineer
• Wenceslaus Johann Gustav Karsten (1732–1787), German mathematician