Koster
A Dutch occupational surname meaning “sexton” or church caretaker.
The #5,293 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 46,922 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Koster comes from Dutch koster, a church sexton or verger—the person who looks after the church, its equipment, and often the bell-ringing and maintenance. In older Dutch, the word is related to church service duties rather than to any family name in the modern sense. In some cases, especially in Dutch naming patterns, it may also have been used as a patronymic-style surname for someone identified as “the son of the koster.”
History
The name is well established in the Netherlands and nearby Dutch-speaking regions, and it spread elsewhere through migration. A famous historical bearer was Laurens Janszoon Coster, an early Dutch figure later associated with the invention of printing in older tradition. In English-language records, Koster often appears as a Dutch immigrant surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often glossed Koster simply as “sexton,” showing how transparently occupational the name was to them.
From the historical record
“testi, Kane, Pen, and Testa d'Oro.) KORTHALS (tl).)? Short neck. Kortman, Short man. KOSTER (tlD.)j Sexton. Laurens Jansz. Koster — Lawrence Kos- ter, John's son — was the inventor of printing, circa 1440. KOUTHOOFD (iD.), Gold head. (v. Kops and Breithaupt.) KROMVLIET (tD.), Crooked or Winding brook. KRUMHOLZ…”
— Surnames