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Luster
How to Pronounce Luster
Pronounced LUS-ter /ΛlΚs.tΙr/Medium
Meaning: Luster is a surname and English word ('luster', a soft glow or sheen, from Latin 'lustrare', 'to illuminate') pressed into use as a first name in the early-1900s South. Its exact motivation as a name is not documented.Low
Popularity in the U.S. Β· SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880βpresent). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Luster served as both a surname and the ordinary English word for a soft sheen β from Latin lustrare, 'to make bright' β and turned up as a boys' given name in the American South around the turn of the century. Whether families chose it for the surname line or the shining word is not recorded.
Never common, it peaked around 1920 and thinned out through the century. A man named Luster would belong to a grandparent-or-older generation; the name reads today as a distinctly regional vintage choice and has not revived.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Luster mean?
Luster is a surname and word meaning 'sheen', used as a given name.
How do you pronounce Luster?
It's said LUS-ter /ΛlΚs.tΙr/ β two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Luster a boy or girl name?
Luster is used as a boy's name.
How popular is Luster?
Luster was always rare in the U.S., an early twentieth-century surname-and-word name now seldom used.