Wester
A place-based surname meaning “from the west” or “from the western place.”
The #6,532 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 59,523 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wester is most often a locational surname formed from a word meaning “western” or “the western one.” In English contexts it can point to a place name built on west, while in Dutch and Scandinavian contexts it may reflect a topographic or habitational name with the same basic sense. The root ultimately goes back to a common Germanic word for “west.”
History
The historical notes supplied point to related western place-names in Scotland and England, but they do not give a direct dictionary entry for Wester itself. In practice, the surname is found in several Germanic-language areas and may have arisen independently in more than one place from the same directional term. In English-speaking countries it is relatively uncommon and often overlaps in spelling with similar surnames formed from West or from local names containing the element west- or wester-.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Germanic root behind Wester also appears in many place-names and surnames that simply mean “west” or “western.”
From the historical record
“Lower separates Duty from Durie. ' Duty. The "braes of Duty" are in the parish of Fowlis-Wester, in the centre of Perthshire.' The name in any case is Scotch, and local 17S0. Married— John Darr aikd Jcaa”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances