A biblical name with a possible star meaning
Esther comes from the Hebrew name Ester, familiar through the biblical Book of Esther. Its deeper origin is debated. One explanation connects it with a Persian word for “star”; another links it with Ishtar, the name of a Near Eastern goddess. The name's biblical history is much clearer than the choice between those proposed roots.
That history gives Esther an unusually strong narrative identity. It belongs to a queen whose story centers on danger, courage, and the survival of her people, and it has remained part of both Jewish naming and the wider international tradition of biblical names.
Queen Esther and Purim
In the biblical account, Esther is a Jewish woman who becomes queen of Persia. She is also called Hadassah and has been raised by her cousin Mordecai after losing her parents. When the royal official Haman plots against the Jews, Mordecai alerts her to the danger.
Esther reveals her identity to the king and intervenes on behalf of her people. The story's reversal of their threatened destruction is commemorated at Purim. The book describes days of celebration, gifts exchanged with one another, and giving to people in need. Esther's association with the festival keeps the name connected to a story retold across generations.
English use and international forms
Esther entered wider English-speaking use after the Protestant Reformation. Hester is a historical alternative, while Ester appears in several languages, including Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and modern Hebrew. Hungarian uses Eszter. These variations belong to the same biblical name family.
The usual English pronunciation is ES-ter, with the stress on the first syllable and a plain t sound. French Esther is closer to es-TEHR, and Spanish Esther places the stress on the final syllable. Essie is an established English nickname; Esti is a Hebrew familiar form. Hadassah is the queen's other name rather than a translation of Esther.
Esther Duflo and experimental economics
Economist Esther Duflo supplies a modern connection beyond the biblical story. She shared the 2019 economics Nobel with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer for research using experiments to understand and reduce poverty.
Their work tested specific questions about education, health care, and other practical problems rather than treating poverty as a single abstract issue. Duflo also co-founded MIT's Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab in 2003 with Banerjee and Sendhil Mullainathan. The network brought field experiments and the wider use of successful programs into close conversation.
Popularity in the United States
Esther reached number 27 for American girls in 1896. Its largest annual count came in 1918, with 6,574 births. After a quieter period, it rose in recent records from number 203 in 2015 to number 148 in 2020 and number 119 in 2025. In 2025, 2,277 girls received the name. Its recent rise adds a new chapter to a name with a long American presence.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Meaning and history draw on the references below. American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling; counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.
How popular is Esther?
In 2025, Esther ranked #119 among girls in the United States, with 2,277 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1880; its largest annual count was 6,574 in 1918. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.