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

Munster, 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 Munster surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Munster in America

Munster is the 28650th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Munster surname appeared 832 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 Munster.

We can also compare 2010 data for Munster 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 Munster

The surname Munster originated in Germany and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the German words "Münster" or "Munster," which refer to a monastic church or a cathedral town. The name likely originated from people who lived near a cathedral or monastery.

The earliest recorded instances of the Munster surname can be found in various German records from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dating back to the year 1284.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct references to the surname Munster. However, the place name "Munster" is mentioned in relation to a town in Westphalia, Germany.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Munster was Sebastian Munster (1488-1552), a German cartographer, cosmographer, and Hebrew scholar. He is best known for his work Cosmographia, a significant work in the history of cartography.

Another notable figure was Georg Munster (1553-1628), a German mathematician and astronomer. He made important contributions to the development of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.

In the 16th century, a German family named Munster played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. Erasmus Munster (1525-1588) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer who worked alongside Martin Luther.

During the 17th century, Johann Munster (1620-1688) was a German composer and organist who worked in Leipzig and is known for his contributions to the development of the chorale partita.

In the 19th century, Baron Georg von Munster (1776-1844) was a German diplomat and statesman who served as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Hanover to the United Kingdom.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the surname Munster throughout history, highlighting its German origins and its association with religious and academic institutions, as well as its presence in various fields such as cartography, astronomy, and diplomacy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Munster

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

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

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

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