Total births
4,439
Girls' name · since 1880
Esta
4,439 babies named Esta in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #11131
- among girls today
- 4,439
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 37%
- more common than other girls
Yes -- Esta is the #11131 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 4,439 recorded since 1880.
Esta has 4,439 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #11131 as of the latest data, more common than 37% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #11131 among girls today
- 4,439 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
- 37% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Esta is currently the #11131 girls' name in America, more common than 37% of girls - 4,439 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #11131
- among girls today
- 4,439
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 37%
- more common than other girls
Esta vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#11131
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 37% of names given to girls today.
1920s
Peak decade
20% of everyone ever named Esta was born in this single decade.
1920
Single peak year
117 babies were named Esta in 1920 - its busiest year on record.
How Esta compares
4,439 Top 14% higher than 86% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Esta's all-time total is 12x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Esta | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 4,439 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 117 | 48 | 19,840 |
Esta's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Esta splits its recorded history at 1941: 24% of all births land in the more recent half, 76% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1973 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1920 peak of 117 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Esta at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
1920
Current rank
#11,131
Active since
1880
Esta popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1920)
- 117
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Esta popularity over time - boys
27 total births recorded since 1881 (Esta as boys' name)
Esta by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1920s was Esta's strongest decade.
872 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 20% of all-time use.
Esta births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 172
1880s
172 births
- 1890s
1890s
378 births
- 1900s
1900s
463 births
- 1910s
1910s
850 births
- 1920s
1920s
872 births
- 1930s
1930s
564 births
- 1940s
1940s
447 births
- 1950s 309
1950s
309 births
- 1960s 143
1960s
143 births
- 1970s 82
1970s
82 births
- 1980s 52
1980s
52 births
- 1990s 24
1990s
24 births
- 2000s 5
2000s
5 births
- 2010s 47
2010s
47 births
- 2020s 31
2020s
31 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 872 births (20% of all-time use).
How Esta compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Esta's total volume
Esta vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Esta by state
Where Esta concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 302 | 6.8% |
| #2 | Texas | | 256 | 5.8% |
| #3 | West Virginia | | 243 | 5.5% |
| #4 | Kentucky | | 162 | 3.6% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 135 | 3.0% |
| #6 | Oklahoma | | 87 | 2.0% |
| #7 | Tennessee | | 42 | 0.9% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 34 | 0.8% |
New York share of Esta's total US births 6.8%
Even split
302 of 4,439 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 18 reporting states.
Esta appears in 18 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Esta? ▼
Since 1880, Social Security records show 4,439 babies named Esta. Today it holds rank #11131 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 1920, with 117 births.
When was Esta most popular? ▼
Esta was most popular in the 1920s decade with 872 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
Where is Esta most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Esta are New York (302 births), Texas (256 births), West Virginia (243 births).
How long has the name Esta been used? ▼
Esta has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 146 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Esta? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Esther, Estelle, Estella, Estrella, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Esta's data
- Esta's decade-level peak was the 1920s (872 total births); usage has since declined to 31 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Estas (302 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Esta
Nearby Names Like Esta
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Esta
Esther Girl
#130 271,234 births
Estelle Girl
#641 56,410 births
Estella Girl
#502 42,920 births
Estrella Girl
#620 16,799 births
Ester Girl
#1512 16,265 births
Compare Esta side by side: Esta vs Esther Esta vs Estelle Esta vs Estella
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Esta
Gena #11130
12,824 births · Peak 1968
Sabra #11132
4,960 births · Peak 1961
Charles #11129
12,476 births · Peak 1927
Ula #11133
1,618 births · Peak 1924
Beryl #11128
10,130 births · Peak 1920
Aletha #11134
6,948 births · Peak 1923
Iola #11127
9,659 births · Peak 1918
Johnie #11135
5,144 births · Peak 1918
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Esta: #11131 Girls' Name - 4,439 Births, Peak 1920." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/esta. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Esta draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.