Explore the Family Name Dunster

The meaning of Dunster

English: habitational name from Dunster in Somerset, recorded in 1138 as Dunestore, from the Old English personal name Dun(n) + torr ‘craggy pinnacle’. History: Henry Dunster emigrated to MA in 1640 from Bury, Lancashire, England, and was made the first president of Harvard College (1640–54) almost immediately upon arrival in MA.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Dunster in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Dunster saw a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it sat at rank 51,680 and then slipped to 52,383 in 2010, marking a decrease of 1.36 percent. However, the actual count of people with the surname Dunster increased by approximately 4.76 percent, from 378 individuals in 2000 to 396 in 2010. Even though the name grew in total usage, its proportion per 100,000 people declined by 7.14 percent over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#51,680	#52,383	-1.36%
Count	378	396	4.76%
Proportion per 100k	0.14	0.13	-7.14%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Dunster

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the vast majority of individuals bearing the surname Dunster identify as White. This group accounted for 96.30 percent in 2000 and slightly increased to 96.72 percent in 2010. While there was a small percentage (2.12%) of those who identified as Hispanic in 2000, this number dropped to zero by 2010. There were no recorded instances of individuals with the Dunster surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native during either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.3%	96.72%	0.44%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	2.12%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%