Coester last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Coester is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Coester.

Meaning of Coester

A German surname derived from the word "Köster" meaning sexton or church officer.

Coester, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Coester surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Coester in America

Coester is the 111988th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Coester surname appeared 157 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Coester.

We can also compare 2010 data for Coester to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 111988 80216 33.06%
Count 157 220 -33.42%
Proportion per 100k 0.05 0.08 -46.15%

The history of the last name Coester

The surname "COESTER" is of German origin, deriving from the occupational name "Köster" or "Koster," which referred to a sacristan or a church caretaker. The name first emerged in the 14th century in various regions of Germany, where the role of the Köster was prevalent in churches and religious institutions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Hannover, where a certain "Hinrich Koster" was mentioned in 1387. This suggests that the name had already established itself in northern Germany by the late 14th century.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as "Koester," "Coster," and "Coester," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and orthography. For instance, the Cölner Schreinsbücher (Cologne Guild Records) from 1452 lists a "Johan Coester" among the city's guild members.

By the 16th century, the name had spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England, where it was often anglicized to "Coaster" or "Coster." One notable figure from this time was the Dutch philosopher and theologian Gerardus Coester van Voorhout (1514-1589), who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.

In the 17th century, the name continued to be found across Germany and the Low Countries. A notable bearer was the German composer and organist Johann Coester (1616-1672), who served as the organist at the St. Jacobi Church in Hamburg.

The 18th century saw the emergence of several prominent individuals with the surname Coester. Johann Christoph Coester (1730-1807) was a German historian and philologist who wrote extensively on ancient Greek and Roman history. Another noteworthy figure was the Dutch-born painter Barent Coester (1737-1804), known for his landscape and seascape paintings.

In the 19th century, the name remained widespread in Germany, with individuals such as the German jurist and politician Carl Theodor Coester (1805-1892), who served as the Minister of Justice for the Kingdom of Prussia.

Throughout history, the surname Coester has been associated with various professions, including clergy, scholars, artists, and public servants, reflecting the diverse paths taken by those who bore this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Coester

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Coester.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Coester was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 89.17% 140
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 5.10% 8
Hispanic Origin 4.46% 7

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Coester has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 89.17% 92.27% -3.42%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 5.10% 4.55% 11.40%
Hispanic 4.46% (S)% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Coester was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Coester, please contact us.

Reference this page

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"Coester last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on September 9, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/coester-surname-popularity/.

"Coester last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/coester-surname-popularity/. Accessed 9 September, 2025

Coester last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/coester-surname-popularity/.

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