How Many People Are Named Lester?
An estimated 47,770 people in the United States have the first name Lester. It is predominantly male (99.0%). The average bearer is 65 years old, and Lester peaked in popularity in 1918 with 3,265 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Lester 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 Lester paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Lester is overwhelmingly male, 1,359 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Lester has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
47,770
About 1 in 7,175 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.0% confidence
Average Age
65
years old
Peak Year
1918
3,265 births
Total Registered
131,938
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Lester
Lester is predominantly male (99.0%), though 1,359 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Lester as a male name
Ranked #1,580 in 2024
109 male births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (3,229 births)
Lester as a female name
Ranked #10,045 in 1985
6 female births in 1985
Peak: 1927 (40 births)
Lester: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Lester span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 26,842 babies were registered. Lester has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Lester by Decade
How has Lester 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,451 | 1,440 | 11 | |
| 1890s | 2,762 | 2,702 | 60 | |
| 1900s | 4,465 | 4,361 | 104 | |
| 1910s | 21,732 | 21,509 | 223 | |
| 1920s | 26,842 | 26,513 | 329 | |
| 1930s | 17,164 | 16,984 | 180 | |
| 1940s | 17,229 | 17,081 | 148 | |
| 1950s | 16,717 | 16,570 | 147 | |
| 1960s | 9,834 | 9,740 | 94 | |
| 1970s | 5,156 | 5,110 | 46 | |
| 1980s | 3,588 | 3,571 | 17 | |
| 1990s | 2,080 | 2,080 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 1,371 | 1,371 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,044 | 1,044 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 503 | 503 | 0 | |
Lester by State
Birth registrations for Lester span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 2,325 Lesters were registered per state.
Lester + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Lester as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Lester
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Lester: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lester?
We estimate approximately 47,770 people named Lester 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 7,175 Americans share this first name.
Is Lester a common name?
Lester is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 131,938 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Lester most popular?
Lester reached peak popularity in 1918, when 3,265 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Lester is approximately 65 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Lester a male name?
Lester is predominantly male. 99.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Lester Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Lester Smith, Lester Johnson, Lester 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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