Recorded 1916–2016 Boys' name Peak 1920 66 births

Jester — boys' name

66 babies named Jester in U.S. Social Security records since 1916, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1910s111920s181930s51950s61980s61990s52000s102010s5
1920s
Peak decade

27% of everyone ever named Jester was born in this single decade.

1920
Single peak year

7 babies were named Jester in 1920 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Jester

The Social Security Administration has registered 66 babies named Jester between 1916 and 2016, spanning 101 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Jester currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 2016. The name reached its historical peak in 1920, when 7 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Jester performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 18 births during that ten-year window. Across the 8 decades of recorded activity, Jester shows a clear decline from its mid-century high.

No etymological entry is currently available for Jester in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 66 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Jester at a glance

Last recorded 2016

Total births

66

Since 1916

101 years of records

Peak year

1920

7 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2016

Active since

1916

Recorded for 101 years

Last year on file: 2016

Jester popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2016–1916

Last recorded 2016
Peak year (1920)
7
Annual births at peak — across 101 years of records
4.555.566.577.5 201620092006199119891953193819291921192019191916 5

Jester by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
18 births that decade — 27% of Jester's all-time total
1910s111920s181930s51950s61980s61990s52000s102010s5

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Jester?
66 babies have been named Jester since 1916. It was last recorded in 2016. The peak year was 1920 with 7 births.
When was Jester most popular?
Jester was most popular in the 1920s decade with 18 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
How long has the name Jester been used?
Jester has been recorded in Social Security data since 1916, spanning 101 years of data through 2016.
What names are similar to Jester?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Jesse, Jesus, Jessie, Jess, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1916–2016 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.