# Esther (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/esther/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Persian |
| Meaning | “star”, “ishtar” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛstɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Esti, Estee, Ettie |
| Variant spellings | Ester, Essie |
| US babies named this | 272,206 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 972 / 271,234 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 9,104, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ἐσθήρ (Esthḗr), from Biblical Hebrew אֶסְתֵּר (ʾestēr). Has been connected to Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (a-s-t-r /⁠star-⁠/, “star”) (whence Middle Persian 𐭮𐭲𐭫 (stl /⁠star⁠/, “star”), 𐭮𐭲𐭠𐭫𐭪 (stʾlk /⁠stārag⁠/, “star”), Persian ستاره (sitāra /setâre, “star”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (if so, a distant doublet of star); or else to Akkadian 𒀭𒈹 (Ištar, “Ishtar”) (Hebrew עִשְׁתָּר (ʿištār)).

## What it means

Esther is grouped under star.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,356 | 233 |
| 2012 | 1,344 | 238 |
| 2013 | 1,440 | 222 |
| 2014 | 1,669 | 199 |
| 2015 | 1,625 | 203 |
| 2016 | 1,814 | 182 |
| 2017 | 1,836 | 165 |
| 2018 | 1,860 | 151 |
| 2019 | 1,732 | 165 |
| 2020 | 1,832 | 148 |
| 2021 | 1,847 | 153 |
| 2022 | 2,088 | 138 |
| 2023 | 2,026 | 138 |
| 2024 | 2,220 | 130 |
| 2025 | 2,277 | 119 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 9 | 4,338 |
| 1983 | 7 | 5,092 |
| 1984 | 9 | 4,309 |
| 1985 | 7 | 5,331 |
| 1986 | 8 | 5,010 |
| 1987 | 8 | 5,106 |
| 1989 | 11 | 4,611 |
| 1990 | 7 | 6,644 |
| 1991 | 8 | 6,131 |
| 1992 | 8 | 6,307 |
| 1993 | 9 | 5,907 |
| 2010 | 6 | 11,176 |
| 2013 | 7 | 9,985 |
| 2020 | 5 | 12,631 |
| 2022 | 5 | 12,932 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 368 | 148 |
| 2012 | 342 | 156 |
| 2013 | 329 | 157 |
| 2014 | 361 | 152 |
| 2015 | 352 | 154 |
| 2016 | 375 | 146 |
| 2017 | 380 | 141 |
| 2018 | 312 | 173 |
| 2019 | 276 | 180 |
| 2020 | 303 | 167 |
| 2021 | 311 | 166 |
| 2022 | 308 | 160 |
| 2023 | 338 | 146 |
| 2024 | 343 | 145 |
| 2025 | 333 | 150 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: أَسْتِير
- Armenian: Եսթեր
- Catalan: Ester
- Chinese: 艾丝特, 以斯帖記 /以斯帖记
- Czech: Ester
- Danish: Esther, Ester
- Dutch: Esther, Ester
- Estonian: Ester
- Finnish: Esteri, Ester
- French: Esther
- Georgian: ესთერი
- German: Esther, Ester
- Greek: Εσθήρ
- Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּר
- Hindi: एस्थर, एस्तेर
- Hungarian: Eszter
- Icelandic: Ester
- Irish: Eistir, Leabhar Eistir
- Italian: Ester
- Japanese: エステル, エステル記

## People named Esther

- Esther Duflo, French-American economist (born 1972)
- Esther Williams, American swimmer, actress and singer (1921–2013)
- Esther Lederberg, American microbiologist and pioneer of bacterial genetics (1922–2006)
- Esther Vilar, Argentine writer
- Esther Vergeer, Dutch wheelchair tennis player
- Esther Rolle, actress (1920-1998)
- Esther Ralston, American actress (1902–1994)
- Esther Hayut, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel
- Esther McVey, British politician (born 1967)
- Esther M. Conwell, American physicist
- Esther Hart, Dutch singer
- Esther Phillips, American singer (1935–1984)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.