GESTETNER
Gestetner
The surname Gestetner is of German-Jewish origin, deriving from the occupational name for someone who worked as a typesetter or a printer. This surname is particularly prevalent among Jewish families who emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United Kingdom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The most notable individual associated with the Gestetner surname is David Gestetner (1854-1939), a Hungarian-born inventor and entrepreneur. He is best known for inventing the Gestetner duplicating machine in the late 19th century, a device that revolutionised the process of duplicating documents and led to the establishment of the Gestetner Company. The Gestetner duplicator was widely used in offices and schools before the advent of modern photocopiers.
The Gestetner surname has thus become synonymous with innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of printing and duplicating technology. Today, descendants of the Gestetner family can be found across the United Kingdom and in various other countries, with a legacy that continues to be remembered in the history of printing technology.
There are approximately 18 people named Gestetner in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Fewer than one in a million people in Britain are named Gestetner.