The Meister surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,885 people carried this name — #4,496 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,500 people counted. That is up 6% from 7,423 in 2000.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
3,702 people named Meister live in Switzerland.
They live in 25 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 556 people named Meister.
50 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 37 départements, most often Haut-Rhin.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 262 people named Meister live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Chaco.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
69 people named Meister have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 147 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Kuyavian-Pomeranian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
86 people named Meister are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Meister in American newspapers,
1858–1929.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 120,406 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Meister,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Georg Anton Meister d. 1815 · actor
-
Lenhart Meister d. 1524 · Anabaptism
-
Anna Margaretha Meister d. 1675 · lyricist
-
Eugen Walther Gustav Meister d. 1931
-
Echternacher Meister 900– · sculptor
-
Waltensburger Meister 1350–1400 · painter
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Meister.
- Meilleur 340 · U.S. census
- Meinhard 120 · U.S. census
- Meireles 284 · U.S. census
- Meiser 1,565 · U.S. census
- Meiss 374 · U.S. census
- Meissner 4,097 · U.S. census
- Mejean 117 · U.S. census
- Mejias 4,472 · U.S. census
- Mel 310 · U.S. census
- Mela 260 · U.S. census
- Melan 204 · U.S. census
- Melani 197 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Meister is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.