Custer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England

The name Custer is tied to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of England. It comes from the baptismal name which means Custance. Alternatively the name could have been a local name for someone from Coutance, a location name in Normandy. 1

Early Origins of the Custer family

The surname Custer was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 as both a forename and surname: Constance, or Custance de Byerne, Nottinghamshire; John Custaunce, Cambridgeshire; Henry filius Custance, Cambridgeshire; and Custance Burnard, Cambridgeshire.

Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 continued this tradition with: Custance de Bergh; and Adam Custanson. "The last two instances entered together are probably mother and son. " 2

Early History of the Custer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Custer research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1379, 1629, 1650, 1669, 1801, 1881 and 1904 are included under the topic Early Custer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Custer Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Custer has undergone many spelling variations, including Custerson, Custer, Custance, Constance, Custeson and others.

Early Notables of the Custer family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Roger Cuttance (fl. 1650-1669), an English Captain in the navy, a native of Weymouth, Dorset. 3Hambleton Custance, was a Lieutenant-Colonel...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Custer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Custer Ranking

In the United States, the name Custer is the 3,403^rd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4

Custer migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Custer were among those contributors:

Custer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Emanuel Custer, who settled in Maryland in 1811
Catherine Custer, who landed in New York, NY in 1812 5
Fergus Custer, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 5
James Custer, who settled in New York in 1832
Ernst Custer, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Custer Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Henry Custer, who arrived in Illinois in 1917

Contemporary Notables of the name Custer (post 1700) +

Levitt Luzern Custer (1888-1962), American inventor of the statoscope
Levitt Ellsworth Custer (1863-1924), American Ohio dentist and balloonist
Stephen Custer, American cellist
David Luke Custer (b. 1980), American journalist and television anchor and reporter
Willard Ray Custer (1899-1985), American engineer and aircraft visionary
Bob Custer (1898-1974), American film actor
John Custer, American record producer
Boston Custer (1848-1876), American youngest brother of U.S. Army General George Armstrong Custer
Elizabeth Bacon Custer (1842-1933), American wife of General George Armstrong Custer
Thomas Ward Custer (1845-1876), United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Custer Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Appetitus rationi pareat
Motto Translation: Let your desires obey your reason.

Citations +

Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)