Female name
Esther
9,104 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2017. Expression number: 3.
Origin
From Ancient Greek Ἐσθήρ (Esthḗr), from Biblical Hebrew אֶסְתֵּר (ʾestēr). Has been connected to Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (a-s-t-r /star-/, “star”) (whence Middle Persian 𐭮𐭲𐭫 (stl /star/, “star”), 𐭮𐭲𐭠𐭫𐭪 (stʾlk /stārag/, “star”), Persian ستاره (sitāra / setâre, “star”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (if so, a distant doublet of star); or else to Akkadian 𒀭𒈹 (Ištar, “Ishtar”) (Hebrew עִשְׁתָּר (ʿištār)).From Wiktionary, entry “Esther”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know a Esther?
Send them the page about their name.
How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2017: 380 births. 9,104 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. It is still given: 1,633 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1918: 6,588 births. 272,206 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1900s to the 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 28th among girls' names in 1896. It is still given: 10,463 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 1965: 64 births. 1,242 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. It is still given: 85 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 19,275 | 1900–2025 | — |
| Switzerland | 17,373* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Argentina | 3,076 | 2012–2023 | — |
| Quebec | 1,566 | 1980–2025 | — |
| Austria | 939 | 1984–2025 | — |
| Berlin | 217 | 2012–2023 | — |
| Belgium | 181 | 2014–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; RENAPER, Nombres propios en Argentina, CC BY 4.0 (the registry doesn't record sex); Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Statistik Austria, Vornamen, CC BY 4.0; Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first); Statbel, first names of newborns, CC BY 4.0 (one total for the whole period, no yearly breakdown).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
3
expression, creativity, sociability
5 + 1 + 2 + 8 + 5 + 9 = 30 → 3
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
1
initiative, independence, beginnings
5 + 5 = 10 → 1
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
2
cooperation, sensitivity, connection
1 + 2 + 8 + 9 = 20 → 2
- Digits missing from the name
- 3, 4, 6, 7
- Most frequent digit
- 5 · freedom, change, movement
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.