Hester
How to say it: HESS-ter · /ˈhɛstər/
Persian 'stara' meaning star via Esther - English Puritan form famed in The Scarlet Letter.
Hester was the 14,046th most popular girls’ name in the United States in 2025, given to 5 babies (Social Security Administration). Its busiest decade was the 1890s, its births are up 2.0-fold in ten years, and it is projected to rise to #13,233 by 2030.
Updated · SSA 2025 data, published May 2026 · How we compute these figures
Key facts
| Rank among girls’ names, 2025 | #14,046 |
|---|---|
| Babies born in 2025 | 5 |
| Share of births | 1 in 663,068 |
| Peak decade | 1890s |
| Change over 10 years | ×2.0 |
| Projected rank for 2030 (estimate) | #13,233 |
Sources: Social Security Administration (SSA). How we compute these figures.
Its life, decade by decade
Hester peaked in the 1890s and is less common today.
What goes with it
In the classroom
In a class of 25 children born in 2025, the chance that another child is called Hester is about under 1 in 200.
Around the world
This spelling is used in Dutch, English.
Famous people named Hester
- Hester Stanhope (1776–1839)Noblewoman; British aristocrat, antiquarian and archaeologist
- Hester Thrale (1741–1821)Welsh author and salon-holder
- Hester Chapone (1727–1801)British writer
From Wikidata and Wikipedia
Good to know
- Hester Prynne, adulteress heroine of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
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