Esther
Girl nameEsther has been given to 272,206 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1918 and currently ranks #119 for girls (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈɛstə/
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)).
Origin: Persian
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
272,206
Peak year
1918 (6,588 babies)
Rank in 2025
#119 for girls
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▲ +40%
Gender split
100% girls / 0% boys
Famous people named Esther
Esther Duflo
French-American economist (born 1972)
Esther
Biblical Jewish queen of Persia and Medes (Book of Esther)
Esther Williams
American swimmer, actress and singer (1921–2013)
Vidal Sassoon
British hairstylist (1928–2012)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Esther.
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