The Munster surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 832 people carried this name — #28,650 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 357,100 people counted. That is up 4% from 799 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Munster surname
From Middle High German münster, from Old High German munistiuri (8th century), from Vulgar Latin *monisterium, from Latin monastērium, from Ancient Greek μοναστήριον (monastḗrion).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Münster» (German), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 66 people named Munster.
11 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 9 départements, most often Meurthe-et-Moselle.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
57 people named Munster live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 Belgium’s population register
At least 45 people named Munster live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
41 people named Munster is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
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).
Who carried it
People named Munster,
with a public archive behind them.
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Maud Ramsden d. 1954
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William Henry Magnus Munster d. 1936
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Jan Elias Munster 1681–1716 · deacon
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Henry Munster 1823–1894 · politician
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Edward Frederick Munster 1832–1913
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William Munster 1849–1877 · politician
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Munster.
- Munich 192 · U.S. census
- Munier 303 · U.S. census
- Muniz 30,695 · U.S. census
- Munos 3,610 · U.S. census
- Munoz 158,483 · U.S. census
- Munsch 1,146 · U.S. census
- Munteanu 416 · U.S. census
- Muntz 1,537 · U.S. census
- Mur 201 · U.S. census
- Mura 618 · U.S. census
- Murat 614 · U.S. census
- Murati 288 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Munster 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.