Esther
Meaning of Esther
Esther—pronounced ES-thər—gleams like a quiet constellation in the onomastic firmament, her etymological roots reaching simultaneously into ancient Persia and Israel: while some scholars trace the name to the Old Persian stāra, “star,” others note its adoption as the courtly name of Hadassah in the Hebrew Bible, thereby weaving together celestial imagery with the fragrant myrtle that Hadassah signifies. In sacred narrative, Queen Esther’s poised bravery, exercised “ad astra” for her people, has rendered the name a perennial emblem of luminous courage and prudent diplomacy; across the centuries, theologians and historians alike have invoked her story as a paradigm of moral agency under imperial shadow. The name’s peregrinatio through Western culture—Ester in Iberian tongues, Estera in the Romance East—attests to its universal resonance, yet in the United States her statistical arc tells a tale of rhythmic ebb and flow: soaring into the national top 40 during the roaring twenties, gently receding mid-century, and now ascending anew to rank 130 with more than two thousand newborn bearers in 2024. Thus, Esther stands at the crossroads of antiquity and modernity, a luminous nomen that offers parents not merely a melodious bisyllable but a storied legacy of steadfast light, inviting each new bearer to shine fortiter et suaviter—strongly and sweetly—within her own unfolding narrative.
Pronunciation
British English
- Pronunced as ES-thuh (/ˈɛs.θər/)
American English
- Pronunced as ES-thur (/ˈɛs.θər/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Esther
| Esther Jane Williams was an American competitive swimmer turned actress who, after the 1940 Olympics were canceled, joined Billy Rose Aquacade, was discovered by MGM, and became famous for 1940s and early 1950s aquamusicals featuring synchronized swimming. |
| Esther Duflo is a French American economist and MIT professor who shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for her experimental work on reducing global poverty. |
| Esther Lederberg was an American microbiologist who pioneered bacterial genetics, discovering lambda phage and the F factor, inventing replica plating, and uncovering specialized transduction. |
| On February 14, 1870 in South Pass City, Wyoming, Esther Hobart Morris was appointed the first woman justice of the peace in the United States, serving nearly nine months after her predecessor resigned over womens suffrage. |
| Esther Salas is a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, formerly a magistrate judge, and the first Hispanic woman to hold both roles there. |
| Esther Mahlangu is a celebrated South African artist whose bold, large-scale contemporary paintings draw on her Ndebele heritage, making her one of the country's best known artists. |
| Esther Perel is a Belgian American psychotherapist renowned for her insights into human relationships. |
| Esther Grace Earl was an American author, vlogger, and activist whose friendship inspired John Green to complete The Fault in Our Stars, and her posthumous writings became a New York Times bestseller with charity efforts continuing in her name. |
| Esther Rolle was an American actress best known as Florida Evans on Maude and Good Times, and in 1979 she became the first African American actress to win an Emmy for supporting work in a limited series or special. |
| Esther Hicks is an American motivational speaker and author who says she channels a collective called Abraham and is known for Abraham Hicks law of attraction workshops, coauthoring books with her husband, and appearing in The Secret. |
| Esther Ruth Lofgren is an American rower who won Olympic gold in the 2012 women's eight, a Harvard graduate and two-time All-American, eight-time U.S. National Team member, and seven-time World Championship medalist. |
| Esther Sans Takeuchi is a pioneering materials scientist and chemical engineer who advanced batteries for medical devices, serves as a Stony Brook professor and Brookhaven chief scientist, and holds over 150 US patents. |
| Esther Dyson is a Swiss born American investor, author, and philanthropist, executive founder of Wellville, focusing on health while backing health and technology startups. |
| Esther Afua Ocloo was a Ghanaian business leader who pioneered microlending to help small businesses thrive. |
| Esther Mae Wilkins, an American dental hygienist and dentist, wrote Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist and lent her name to the Wilkins Tufts Explorer. |
