The Custer surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,790 people carried this name — #3,324 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 27,300 people counted. That is up 1% from 10,684 in 2000.

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In Switzerland’s population statistics

67 people named Custer live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in St. Gallen.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

St. Gallen 19
Zurich 18
Thurgau 11
Ticino 11
Graubünden 5
Bern 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In print

Custer in American newspapers,
1876–1930.

Newspaper page from The New York Herald carrying the name Custer
The New York Herald 1876-07-16
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Custer
Evening Star 1930-06-22
Newspaper page from The New York Herald carrying the name Custer
The New York Herald 1876-07-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Custer in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1960s.

516 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Custer. The most, 85, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 207
Victoria 140
Queensland 64
South Australia 56
Western Australia 27
Tasmania 12
ACT (Canberra) 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Custer.

Who carried it

People named Custer,
with a public archive behind them.

  • George Armstrong Custer
    George Armstrong Custer 1839–1876 · military officer
  • Elizabeth Bacon Custer
    Elizabeth Bacon Custer 1842–1933 · writer
  • Thomas Custer
    Thomas Custer 1845–1876 · military officer
  • Boston Custer
    Boston Custer 1848–1876 · military personnel
  • Levitt Ellsworth Custer
    Levitt Ellsworth Custer 1863–1924 · dentist
  • Jakob Laurenz Custer 1755–1828 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Custer,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States702 records

702 records of the Custer name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 399
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 123
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 69
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 52
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 27
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 27
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James F. Custer

    Born 1915 in Missouri. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; lineman from Cooper County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1971, buried at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Kansas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Cesare Custer

    Arrived at New York in 1896 aboard the La Touraine from Havre, aged 23; student. From San Francisco, Torino, Italy; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record George Paul Custer

    Born 1947; from Wheeling, West Virginia. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 702 records for Custer in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Netherlands139 records

139 records of the Custer name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 114
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 18
  • Dutch population registers 7
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Hubertina Custer

    Married in 1876 in Roermond; cleaning woman, born 1837 in Roermond.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jacob Custer

    Married in 1729 in Breda; soldier.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Breda (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jacoba Custer

    Died 1870 in Rotterdam, aged 72.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 139 records for Custer in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia10 records

10 records of the Custer name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Valentin Custer

    Arrived in Victoria in 1880 aboard the Liguria, aged 19.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record David Walter Custer

    Of Manly, New South Wales; died 1930.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Custer

    Arrived in Victoria in 1872 aboard the Ophir.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Custer in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Germany2 records

2 records of the Custer name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Walter Custer

    From Gablonz, Böhmen. Reported wounded in the Saxon casualty list of 15 January 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 139).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Walter Paul Custer

    From Gablonz in Böhmen. Reported wounded in the Saxon casualty list of 23 September 1914 (Infantry Regiment No. 139).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Custer name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Andrew Custer

    Listed at Dorchester, Sydney, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1827.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France1 record

1 record of the Custer name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Joseph Francois Christian Custer

    Born 1904 in Lyon (Rhône); died 1985 in Avignon (Vaucluse).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Custer.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Custer is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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