Ester
Ester was given to 134 girls in 2025, #1,574 among girls’ names; 17,156 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 8,870 Americans named Ester and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (52% of everyone recorded); the median is 46 years old and half are between 18 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ester by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ester mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ester is “a female given name from Hebrew, alternative form of Esther.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ester?
#1,574 among girls’ names, 2025
Ester rose from #1,842 in 2015 to #1,574 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 62.7 to 83.4 per million.
307 babies in 1925, the peak
Ester peaked in 1925, when 307 babies were given it (281 girls, #411 among girls’ names). The 134 births of 2025 are 44% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 134 | #1,574 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 143 | #1,514 | 0.09 |
| 2023 | 159 | #1,409 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 138 | #1,549 | 0.08 |
| 2021 | 144 | #1,486 | 0.09 |
| 2020 | 124 | #1,658 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 124 | #1,689 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 118 | #1,744 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 130 | #1,658 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 111 | #1,858 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 112 | #1,842 | 0.06 |
| 2014 | 115 | #1,785 | 0.06 |
| 2013 | 122 | #1,706 | 0.07 |
| 2012 | 117 | #1,765 | 0.07 |
| 2011 | 122 | #1,709 | 0.07 |
| 2010 | 119 | #1,748 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 92 | #2,173 | 0.05 |
| 2008 | 137 | #1,646 | 0.07 |
| 2007 | 103 | #1,992 | 0.05 |
| 2006 | 95 | #2,074 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 119 | #1,672 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 88 | #2,071 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 96 | #1,902 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 98 | #1,825 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 79 | #2,101 | 0.04 |
| 2000 | 102 | #1,716 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 91 | #1,756 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 78 | #1,941 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 76 | #1,912 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 71 | #1,980 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 75 | #1,861 | 0.04 |
| 1994 | 79 | #1,809 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 68 | #2,032 | 0.04 |
| 1992 | 69 | #1,986 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 80 | #1,779 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 67 | #2,009 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 82 | #1,666 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 70 | #1,787 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 59 | #1,925 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 79 | #1,542 | 0.05 |
| 1985 | 64 | #1,767 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 56 | #1,889 | 0.03 |
| 1983 | 72 | #1,553 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 94 | #1,328 | 0.06 |
| 1981 | 79 | #1,518 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 72 | #1,614 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 74 | #1,559 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 53 | #1,869 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 64 | #1,643 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 60 | #1,643 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 62 | #1,590 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 80 | #1,325 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 72 | #1,382 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 86 | #1,228 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 106 | #1,113 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 89 | #1,250 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 84 | #1,218 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 79 | #1,233 | 0.05 |
| 1967 | 89 | #1,108 | 0.05 |
| 1966 | 89 | #1,122 | 0.05 |
| 1965 | 119 | #934 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 137 | #888 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 141 | #884 | 0.07 |
| 1962 | 141 | #892 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 145 | #897 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 160 | #825 | 0.08 |
| 1959 | 147 | #842 | 0.07 |
| 1958 | 147 | #841 | 0.07 |
| 1957 | 149 | #831 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 164 | #761 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 158 | #755 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 141 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1953 | 180 | #669 | 0.10 |
| 1952 | 178 | #664 | 0.10 |
| 1951 | 143 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1950 | 177 | #645 | 0.10 |
| 1949 | 173 | #627 | 0.10 |
| 1948 | 183 | #609 | 0.11 |
| 1947 | 171 | #637 | 0.10 |
| 1946 | 173 | #599 | 0.11 |
| 1945 | 127 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1944 | 157 | #586 | 0.12 |
| 1943 | 156 | #603 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 150 | #611 | 0.11 |
| 1941 | 140 | #595 | 0.12 |
| 1940 | 152 | #562 | 0.13 |
| 1939 | 125 | #604 | 0.11 |
| 1938 | 139 | #585 | 0.13 |
| 1937 | 165 | #511 | 0.16 |
| 1936 | 151 | #529 | 0.15 |
| 1935 | 158 | #508 | 0.15 |
| 1934 | 157 | #514 | 0.15 |
| 1933 | 147 | #523 | 0.15 |
| 1932 | 163 | #514 | 0.15 |
| 1931 | 179 | #478 | 0.17 |
| 1930 | 193 | #482 | 0.17 |
| 1929 | 207 | #460 | 0.19 |
| 1928 | 228 | #454 | 0.20 |
| 1927 | 220 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1926 | 263 | #422 | 0.22 |
| 1925 | 281 | #411 | 0.23 |
| 1924 | 216 | #473 | 0.17 |
| 1923 | 230 | #451 | 0.19 |
| 1922 | 249 | #420 | 0.21 |
| 1921 | 253 | #429 | 0.21 |
| 1920 | 226 | #447 | 0.19 |
| 1919 | 240 | #420 | 0.21 |
| 1918 | 202 | #469 | 0.17 |
| 1917 | 175 | #498 | 0.16 |
| 1916 | 198 | #453 | 0.19 |
| 1915 | 187 | #448 | 0.19 |
| 1914 | 134 | #476 | 0.18 |
| 1913 | 121 | #452 | 0.19 |
| 1912 | 123 | #420 | 0.22 |
| 1911 | 101 | #400 | 0.24 |
| 1910 | 92 | #411 | 0.23 |
| 1909 | 69 | #448 | 0.20 |
| 1908 | 59 | #469 | 0.18 |
| 1907 | 83 | #390 | 0.26 |
| 1906 | 65 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1905 | 85 | #368 | 0.29 |
| 1904 | 52 | #454 | 0.19 |
| 1903 | 44 | #483 | 0.17 |
| 1902 | 43 | #481 | 0.16 |
| 1901 | 50 | #425 | 0.21 |
| 1900 | 72 | #391 | 0.24 |
| 1899 | 44 | #440 | 0.19 |
| 1898 | 55 | #415 | 0.21 |
| 1897 | 51 | #409 | 0.22 |
| 1896 | 43 | #442 | 0.18 |
| 1895 | 41 | #444 | 0.18 |
| 1894 | 37 | #458 | 0.17 |
| 1893 | 36 | #441 | 0.17 |
| 1892 | 35 | #462 | 0.16 |
| 1891 | 20 | #599 | 0.11 |
| 1890 | 25 | #527 | 0.13 |
| 1889 | 18 | #607 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 21 | #555 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 11 | #706 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 16 | #560 | 0.11 |
| 1885 | 11 | #669 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 13 | #597 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 9 | #665 | 0.08 |
| 1882 | 10 | #611 | 0.09 |
| 1881 | 6 | #769 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Ester a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 17,156 Americans recorded as Ester, 95% are girls and 5% boys. In 2025 it went to 134 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Ester: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ester, and how old are they?
8,870 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 52% of the 17,156 Americans ever recorded as Ester. The median Ester alive today is 46 years old; half are between 18 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 15,869 people named Ester (15,663 women and girls, 206 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 9,043 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.8 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 845 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,210 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,140 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,600 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,660 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ester born?
The states with the most babies named Ester are Texas, California and New York, with 53% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 3,639 | #1,951 | 3.3× |
| California | 1,111 | #2,155 | 0.9× |
| New York | 987 | #958 | 0.7× |
| Mississippi | 729 | not ranked | 2.7× |
| North Carolina | 574 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Alabama | 572 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Georgia | 416 | #1,255 | 0.8× |
| Arkansas | 391 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Louisiana | 382 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Tennessee | 357 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Ester is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ester is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 3.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ester with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 22,735 babies since 1880, Ester is the most given (75% of them). In 2025 it was given to 134 of their 134 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ester
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ester and names like it
- Compare Ester and EasterBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sEster peaked in 1925.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ester since 1910.
- The top names of 1925The year the most babies were named Ester.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ester alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.