Explore the Family Name Kuster
The meaning of Kuster
1. German (mainly Küster) and Swiss German: status name for a sexton or churchwarden, who originally administered the church treasury, from Middle High German kuster (from Late Latin custor ‘guard, warden’). The umlaut of the modern form is due to association with other agent nouns ending in -er, from Old High German -āri (from Latin -arius). The surname Kuster is also found in Slovenia; see also below. 2. Croatian and Slovenian (Kušter): nickname for a person with disheveled hair, from the root of Croatian and Slovenian kuštrav ‘disheveled’ or from Slovenian kušter ‘tuft of hair’, also ‘towhead’. The surname Kušter may also be of German origin (see above). Compare Custer. Some characteristic forenames: German Kurt, Armin, Eldor, Hans, Heinz, Horst, Ulrich.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Kuster in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Kuster has seen a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked at 13,759 and by 2010, it had slipped to 15,048, representing a decrease of approximately 9.37%. The count of individuals with this surname also fell from 2,019 in 2000 to 1,963 in 2010, a drop of approximately 2.77%. Consequently, the proportion of people with the surname Kuster per 100,000 decreased by roughly 10.67%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,759 | #15,048 | -9.37% |
| Count | 2,019 | 1,963 | -2.77% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.75 | 0.67 | -10.67% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kuster
In terms of ethnic identity, again referring to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, some shifts are evident in the demographics associated with the surname Kuster from 2000 to 2010. The largest group remains those identifying as White, which went from 95.99% in 2000 to 95.21% in 2010, a minor decrease of about 0.81%. However, there were significant increases within certain groups. For instance, those identifying their ethnicity as Black rose markedly from 0.40% in 2000 to 0.76% in 2010, a 90% increase. Similarly, those reporting their ethnicity as Hispanic increased from 1.83% to 2.14%, a change of around 16.94%. There was also an uptick in those identifying with two or more races, from 0.79% to 1.17%. Meanwhile, the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native with the surname Kuster was suppressed for privacy reasons in the 2010 census.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 95.99% | 95.21% | -0.81% |
| Hispanic | 1.83% | 2.14% | 16.94% |
| Two or More Races | 0.79% | 1.17% | 48.1% |
| Black | 0.4% | 0.76% | 90% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.5% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.5% | 0% | 0% |