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Home › Baby Names Directory › Custer

Custer

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Custer

Pronounced KUS-tur /ˈkʌs.tər/Medium

Meaning: Custer is chiefly a surname pressed into service as a first name. It is generally traced to a German or Anglicized Continental origin, related to occupational and place-based surnames, and its best-known holder was the nineteenth-century US Army officer George Armstrong Custer. As a given name it follows the American habit of adopting surnames.Low

In 30 seconds: Custer is a rare boy's name, an English and German surname used as a first name. It appears in early US records around 1917 (said KUS-tur).
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Origin LowEnglish, German
MeaningCuster is chiefly a surname pressed into service as a first name. It is generally traced to a German or Anglicized Continental origin, related to occupational and place-based surnames, and its best-known holder was the nineteenth-century US Army officer George Armstrong Custer. As a given name it follows the American habit of adopting surnames.
U.S. rank (1950)#3790 ↘ Falling
1950 U.S. births5 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1917
Total births (all-time)≈ 124

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 191719041950

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Custer is a surname used as a first name, generally traced to a German or Anglicized Continental root among occupational and place-based family names. It saw brief given-name use in the early twentieth century, in step with the American practice of drawing boys' names from notable and family surnames.

In the United States it was never common, given to only about fifteen boys a year even at its peak around 1917, with scattered use into mid-century. A boy named Custer then would be well over a century old today.

Did you know? Like many surnames turned into first names, Custer entered American given-name records in the early twentieth century, when family and historical surnames were a common source of boys' names.
Overall data confidence 40%
References - Custer — Surname used as given name; English/German origin; stated plainly and neutrally; no editorializing on historical figure.

Variations

CustarCustersKusterCustor

Nicknames

CusCust

Famous Bearers

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If you like Custer…

Carter— a like surname used as a first name
Chester— a like early-century surname name
Foster— a comparable occupational surname name
Webster— another surname-turned-first-name

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Custer mean?

It is an English and German surname used as a given name, most likely from a Continental occupational or place origin.

How do you pronounce Custer?

It is said KUS-tur /ˈkʌs.tər/ - two syllables, with the stress on the first.

Is Custer a boy or girl name?

Custer is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Custer?

It was always rare in the United States, given to only about fifteen boys a year even at its peak in the early twentieth century.

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