Show ContentsWester History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Wester family

The surname Wester was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the year 1327 when John of Westerdale held estates at the village of Westerdale in that shire.

Early History of the Wester family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wester research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1455 and 1487 are included under the topic Early Wester History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wester Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Westerdale, Westdale, Westerdall, Westerdell, Westdell, Westdall, Wester and many more.

Early Notables of the Wester family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Westerdale of Westerdale

Wester Ranking

In the United States, the name Wester is the 4,210th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1 However, in Netherlands, the name Wester is ranked the 977th most popular surname with an estimated 2,116 people with that name. 2


United States Wester migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wester Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Johan Wester, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1727 aboard the ship "William and Sarah" 3
  • Willis Wester, who landed in Georgia in 1737 3
  • Johann Georg Wester, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1751 3
Wester Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Ferdinand Wester, aged 28, who arrived in St Louis, Missouri in 1848 3
  • Anna Maria Wester, who landed in America in 1854 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Wester (post 1700) +

  • Peter Jansen Wester (1887-1931), Swedish-American botanist
  • Keith A. Wester (1940-2002), American six-time Academy Award nominated sound engineer
  • John Charles Wester (b. 1950), American prelate of the Catholic Church, the twelfth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe
  • Jennifer Nicole Wester (b. 1985), American former competitive ice dancer, the 2007 Nebelhorn Trophy champion and 2008 World Championship first alternates for Team USA
  • Curtis Wester (1951-1995), American football all-star guard in the Canadian Football League
  • August Wester Jr. (1882-1960), American silver medalist wrestler at the 1904 Summer Olympics
  • Robert C. Wester, American politician, Mayor of Las Vegas, New Mexico, 1956 4
  • Carl Wester, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1948 4
  • C. F. Wester, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1944 4
  • Oscar Wester (b. 1995), Swedish freestyle skier
  • ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Arrow Air Flight 1285
  • Mr. John Charles Wester (1966-1985), American Private 1st Class from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA who died in the Arrow Air Flight 1285 crash 5


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. American War Memorials - Flight 1285. (Retrieved 2016, August 24) . Retrieved from http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=317&MemID=550


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