Lester
Lester was given to 103 boys in 2025, #1,641 among boys’ names; 132,047 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 41,500 Americans named Lester and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (31% of everyone recorded); the median is 66 years old and half are between 51 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lester by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lester mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lester is “a male given name transferred from the surname, of 19th century and later usage.”
As an English surname, from the placename Leicester.
Also as an English surname of Norman origin, from Lestre in Normandy, from Old French Lestra, from Medieval Latin Laxtra, perhaps from extera (“exterior (part of a property)”).
As an English and Scottish surname, variant of Lister.
Also as an English surname, variant of Laster.
As a Scottish and Irish surname, shortened from McLester.
/ˈlɛstɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lester?
#1,641 among boys’ names, 2025
Lester fell from #1,561 in 2015 to #1,641 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 54.3 to 60.3 per million.
3,265 babies in 1918, the peak
Lester peaked in 1918, when 3,265 babies were given it (3,229 boys, #62 among boys’ names). The 103 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 103 | #1,641 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 111 | #1,568 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 82 | #1,921 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 96 | #1,744 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 109 | #1,588 | 0.06 |
| 2020 | 109 | #1,533 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 100 | #1,639 | 0.06 |
| 2018 | 93 | #1,695 | 0.05 |
| 2017 | 88 | #1,760 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 105 | #1,570 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 104 | #1,561 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 106 | #1,520 | 0.06 |
| 2013 | 125 | #1,359 | 0.07 |
| 2012 | 104 | #1,537 | 0.05 |
| 2011 | 102 | #1,556 | 0.05 |
| 2010 | 118 | #1,411 | 0.06 |
| 2009 | 127 | #1,358 | 0.06 |
| 2008 | 142 | #1,231 | 0.07 |
| 2007 | 120 | #1,379 | 0.06 |
| 2006 | 146 | #1,159 | 0.07 |
| 2005 | 128 | #1,238 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 137 | #1,147 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 148 | #1,052 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 139 | #1,080 | 0.07 |
| 2001 | 142 | #1,038 | 0.07 |
| 2000 | 144 | #1,017 | 0.07 |
| 1999 | 173 | #874 | 0.09 |
| 1998 | 133 | #1,017 | 0.07 |
| 1997 | 166 | #853 | 0.09 |
| 1996 | 172 | #832 | 0.09 |
| 1995 | 179 | #798 | 0.09 |
| 1994 | 207 | #730 | 0.11 |
| 1993 | 252 | #648 | 0.13 |
| 1992 | 251 | #653 | 0.13 |
| 1991 | 287 | #601 | 0.14 |
| 1990 | 260 | #629 | 0.13 |
| 1989 | 314 | #547 | 0.16 |
| 1988 | 309 | #520 | 0.16 |
| 1987 | 277 | #548 | 0.15 |
| 1986 | 302 | #504 | 0.16 |
| 1985 | 321 | #485 | 0.17 |
| 1984 | 346 | #450 | 0.19 |
| 1983 | 399 | #409 | 0.22 |
| 1982 | 400 | #418 | 0.22 |
| 1981 | 436 | #387 | 0.24 |
| 1980 | 466 | #370 | 0.26 |
| 1979 | 422 | #390 | 0.25 |
| 1978 | 387 | #392 | 0.24 |
| 1977 | 453 | #366 | 0.28 |
| 1976 | 475 | #351 | 0.30 |
| 1975 | 497 | #344 | 0.32 |
| 1974 | 471 | #355 | 0.30 |
| 1973 | 504 | #337 | 0.32 |
| 1972 | 589 | #311 | 0.36 |
| 1971 | 632 | #308 | 0.36 |
| 1970 | 680 | #297 | 0.37 |
| 1969 | 718 | #277 | 0.40 |
| 1968 | 747 | #266 | 0.43 |
| 1967 | 731 | #269 | 0.42 |
| 1966 | 771 | #261 | 0.43 |
| 1965 | 956 | #237 | 0.51 |
| 1964 | 1,000 | #243 | 0.50 |
| 1963 | 1,101 | #226 | 0.54 |
| 1962 | 1,117 | #230 | 0.54 |
| 1961 | 1,284 | #218 | 0.60 |
| 1960 | 1,316 | #213 | 0.62 |
| 1959 | 1,335 | #211 | 0.63 |
| 1958 | 1,466 | #192 | 0.69 |
| 1957 | 1,636 | #183 | 0.76 |
| 1956 | 1,702 | #176 | 0.80 |
| 1955 | 1,691 | #168 | 0.82 |
| 1954 | 1,758 | #164 | 0.86 |
| 1953 | 1,776 | #157 | 0.90 |
| 1952 | 1,724 | #158 | 0.89 |
| 1951 | 1,722 | #151 | 0.91 |
| 1950 | 1,758 | #148 | 1.0 |
| 1949 | 1,752 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1948 | 1,781 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1947 | 1,944 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1946 | 1,669 | #145 | 1.0 |
| 1945 | 1,618 | #131 | 1.2 |
| 1944 | 1,651 | #126 | 1.2 |
| 1943 | 1,764 | #125 | 1.2 |
| 1942 | 1,749 | #126 | 1.3 |
| 1941 | 1,563 | #125 | 1.3 |
| 1940 | 1,591 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1939 | 1,549 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1938 | 1,604 | #115 | 1.4 |
| 1937 | 1,576 | #116 | 1.5 |
| 1936 | 1,546 | #115 | 1.5 |
| 1935 | 1,626 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1934 | 1,687 | #110 | 1.6 |
| 1933 | 1,644 | #108 | 1.7 |
| 1932 | 1,813 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1931 | 1,919 | #96 | 1.8 |
| 1930 | 2,020 | #95 | 1.8 |
| 1929 | 2,106 | #88 | 2.0 |
| 1928 | 2,229 | #89 | 2.0 |
| 1927 | 2,440 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1926 | 2,539 | #78 | 2.3 |
| 1925 | 2,559 | #81 | 2.3 |
| 1924 | 2,780 | #72 | 2.5 |
| 1923 | 2,765 | #71 | 2.5 |
| 1922 | 2,951 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1921 | 3,076 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1920 | 3,068 | #69 | 2.9 |
| 1919 | 3,020 | #62 | 3.1 |
| 1918 | 3,229 | #62 | 3.2 |
| 1917 | 2,854 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1916 | 2,907 | #59 | 3.3 |
| 1915 | 2,943 | #57 | 3.5 |
| 1914 | 2,164 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1913 | 1,736 | #59 | 3.4 |
| 1912 | 1,443 | #58 | 3.4 |
| 1911 | 657 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1910 | 556 | #64 | 2.9 |
| 1909 | 501 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1908 | 509 | #60 | 3.3 |
| 1907 | 491 | #58 | 3.3 |
| 1906 | 482 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1905 | 432 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1904 | 398 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1903 | 400 | #53 | 3.4 |
| 1902 | 385 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1901 | 332 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1900 | 431 | #60 | 2.9 |
| 1899 | 290 | #65 | 2.7 |
| 1898 | 298 | #70 | 2.4 |
| 1897 | 310 | #62 | 2.7 |
| 1896 | 318 | #65 | 2.7 |
| 1895 | 295 | #68 | 2.5 |
| 1894 | 291 | #69 | 2.5 |
| 1893 | 243 | #77 | 2.2 |
| 1892 | 240 | #81 | 2.0 |
| 1891 | 191 | #83 | 1.9 |
| 1890 | 226 | #76 | 2.0 |
| 1889 | 213 | #82 | 1.9 |
| 1888 | 189 | #97 | 1.6 |
| 1887 | 168 | #89 | 1.7 |
| 1886 | 160 | #98 | 1.4 |
| 1885 | 141 | #102 | 1.3 |
| 1884 | 123 | #118 | 1.1 |
| 1883 | 116 | #111 | 1.1 |
| 1882 | 134 | #110 | 1.2 |
| 1881 | 87 | #143 | 0.86 |
| 1880 | 109 | #121 | 1.0 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Lester a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 132,047 Americans recorded as Lester, 1% are girls and 99% boys. In 2025 it went to 103 boys; SSA lists no girls 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 Lester: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lester, and how old are they?
41,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 31% of the 132,047 Americans ever recorded as Lester. The median Lester alive today is 66 years old; half are between 51 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 47,571 people named Lester (229 women and girls, 47,342 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 49,501 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 5,840 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 19,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 8,380 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,470 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,130 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,320 |
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 Lester born?
The states with the most babies named Lester are Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois, with 20% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 8,591 | #890 | 0.9× |
| New York | 7,595 | #1,367 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 7,010 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 6,245 | #2,458 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 6,207 | #1,398 | 1.0× |
| California | 4,990 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 4,338 | #1,226 | 1.1× |
| Missouri | 4,258 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Louisiana | 4,163 | #857 | 1.6× |
| Georgia | 3,760 | #1,310 | 1.0× |
Where Lester is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lester is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 1.6 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 boys’ 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 Lester with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Lester
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 Lester and names like it
- Compare Lester and CecilBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sLester peaked in 1918.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lester since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Lester: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Lester.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Lester alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.