Esther
Pronounced EH1 S T ER0 (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1918
- 145 years in use
- Biblical
- 1 spelling
How popular is Esther?
Esther is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 287,093 children — the 154th most common girls' name on record.
It peaked in 1918, went quiet for most of a century, and is climbing again. Its best single year was 1918, when 6,776 children were given it.
Ester is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Esther and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Ester
Characteristics
- Biblical (Person)
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- EH1 S T ER0
- Stress pattern:
- 10
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Esther
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Esther
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Esther?
- Esther ranks 154th among girls' names in US records, with 287,093 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 20,182.
- Is Esther a unisex name?
- No. Esther is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Esther most popular?
- 1918, when 6,776 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Esther spelled?
- Ester. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.