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Surname Etymology and Meaning of COSTER

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Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

1. English: metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of costards (Anglo-Norman French, from coste ‘rib’), a variety of large apples, so called for their prominent ribs. In some cases, it may have been a nickname (from the same word) for a person with an apple-shaped (i.e. round) head.
2. Dutch: status name for a churchwarden, from Late Latin custor ‘guard’, ‘warden’.
3. Variant spelling of German Koster.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)