How Many People Are Named Hester?
An estimated 2,171 people in the United States have the first name Hester. It is predominantly female (96.4%). The average bearer is 72 years old, and Hester peaked in popularity in 1918 with 407 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Hester as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Hester paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Hester is overwhelmingly female, 537 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 72, Hester is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1964.
Estimated Living Americans
2,171
About 1 in 157,879 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
96.4% confidence
Average Age
72
years old
Peak Year
1918
407 births
Total Registered
14,759
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Hester
Hester is predominantly female (96.4%), though 537 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Hester as a male name
Ranked #5,020 in 1970
5 male births in 1970
Peak: 1916 (24 births)
Hester as a female name
Ranked #16,067 in 2023
5 female births in 2023
Peak: 1918 (394 births)
Hester: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Hester span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1910s, when 3,249 babies were registered. Hester has declined significantly from its peak in the 1910s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Hester by Decade
How has Hester tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Hester by State
Birth registrations for Hester span all 30 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia. The lowest are in Hawaii, Nebraska, Maine. On average, about 260 Hesters were registered per state.
Hester + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Hester as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Hester
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Hester: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hester?
We estimate approximately 2,171 people named Hester are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 157,879 Americans share this first name.
Is Hester a common name?
Hester is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 94% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 14,759 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Hester most popular?
Hester reached peak popularity in 1918, when 407 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Hester is approximately 72 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Hester a female name?
Hester is predominantly female. 96.4% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Hester Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Hester Smith, Hester Johnson, Hester Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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