Esther
Meaning of Esther
Esther is a biblical name, borne by a Jewish woman who became queen of Persia in the Book of Esther. Its meaning is uncertain: it may come from a Persian word for star or from the name of the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. It is pronounced ES-thur in American English and ES-thuh in British English.
Queen Esther, who saved her people from a plot to destroy them, is remembered each year at the Jewish festival of Purim. Well-known bearers include Esther Williams, the swimmer who starred in MGM musicals, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Esther Duflo.
In the U.S., Esther peaked at 27th in 1896, and 6,574 babies were given the name in 1918, the most in any year. It fell to 348th in 1970 but has climbed since 2000, ranking 119th in 2025 with 2,277 babies.
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. |
