2000
#13,759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,019
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Kuster
An occupational surname referring to a sexton, church official, or person who oversees sacred objects.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,103 Americans carry the last name Kuster. That puts it at #15,395 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,984 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kuster surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 162,984
Census rank
#15,395
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,834 bearers of the surname Kuster in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15395th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuster, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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earliest recorded instances of the name Kuster can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 13th century.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kuster
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuster, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kuster bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kuster surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 1,668
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 77
- Two or more races3.3% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- Black or African American0.7% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kuster
Kuster appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#15,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,963
-56 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 1,289 places
2020
#15,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,834
-129 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 347 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,759 | 2,019 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,048 | 1,963 | 0.67 | -56 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 1,289 places |
| 2020 | #15,395 | 1,834 | 0.61 | -129 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 347 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kuster surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,048 | #15,395 | -2.3% |
| Count | 1,963 | 1,834 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.61 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kuster bearers went from 1,963 to 1,834 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 347 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,048 to #15,395.
FAQ
Kuster surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kuster?
Name Census estimates that about 2,103 living Americans carry the surname Kuster. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,984 residents.
How common is Kuster?
Kuster ranks #15,395 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,834 people with the surname Kuster. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kuster.
Has Kuster become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kuster went from 1,963 recorded bearers to 1,834. That is a decrease of 129 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,048 to #15,395.
What does the Census say about the background of Kuster?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuster, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kuster in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (1,668 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kuster appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (3.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kuster (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kuster mean?
An occupational surname referring to a sexton, church official, or person who oversees sacred objects. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kuster (0.61 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Kuster?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.