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

Kuster, 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 Kuster surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kuster in America

Kuster is the 15048th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kuster surname appeared 1,963 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kuster.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kuster 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.

The history of the last name Kuster

The surname Kuster has its origins in the German language. It is derived from the Middle High German word "küster," which referred to a church custodian or sexton. This occupation-based surname is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century.

The name Kuster was initially concentrated in areas of present-day Germany, particularly in the southern and central regions. It later spread to other parts of Europe, including Switzerland and Austria, as families migrated and settled in new territories.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kuster can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in various church records and parish registers from the medieval era.

In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the name Kuster was Johannes Kuster, a German theologian and scholar born around 1340 in the city of Nuremberg. He contributed to the translation of religious texts and served as a professor at the University of Vienna.

During the Renaissance period, in the 16th century, a notable individual named Ludolph Kuster (1670-1716) emerged as a prominent German classical scholar and philologist. He is best known for his critical editions of ancient Greek texts and his contributions to the study of ancient literature.

Another significant bearer of the Kuster surname was Johann Jakob Kuster (1700-1786), a Swiss theologian and philosopher. He served as a professor of theology at the University of Basel and published numerous works on religious and philosophical topics.

In the 19th century, the name Kuster gained recognition through the works of Christian Wilhelm Kuster (1811-1878), a German historian and author. He is known for his historical writings on the Reformation and the role of Martin Luther in shaping religious and cultural changes in Europe.

Additionally, the name Kuster has been associated with various place names and locations throughout Germany and neighboring regions. For example, the village of Kusterhof in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, likely derived its name from an early settler or landowner with the surname Kuster.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kuster

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

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 Kuster was:

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 Kuster has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Kuster was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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