Hester

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Hester: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Hester: Recorded since 1977, with a gap of 18 years, its highest recorded position is #518, and it stood at #2,574 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
30times a registrar ranked it
48years from first to last
#518highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Hester's record

Absent from every published list for 18 years inside its own recorded period, then ranked again. Names by longest absence

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#916
1997	#1126
1998	#955
1999	#1473
2000	#1195
2001	#1728
2002	#1784
2003	#1552
2004	#1617
2005	#1500
2006	#1435
2007	#1443
2008	#1516
2009	#1909
2010	#1815
2011	#1489
2012	#1253
2013	#1774
2014	#1501
2015	#1240
2016	#1749
2017	#1733
2018	#1649
2019	#2040
2020	#1773
2021	#2073
2022	#2888
2023	#1863
2024	#2574

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1977–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #916 among girls in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #2574 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Hester by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Hester in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	74	4 of 10	19
2000s	143	10 of 10	14
2010sbusiest	189	10 of 10	19
2020s	62	5 of 10	12

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 19 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Hester appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1977 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #518 in Republic of Ireland in 1977.

Hester's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#2574	10	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#1863	15	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#2888	8	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#2073	13	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1773	16	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#2040	13	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#1649	18	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#1733	17	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#1749	17	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#1240	27	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#1501	20	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#1774	16	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#1253	26	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#1489	20	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#1815	15	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#1909	13	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#1516	18	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#1443	18	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1435	17	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#1500	15	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#1617	13	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#1552	13	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1784	10	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1728	10	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1195	16	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1473	12	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#955	22	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1126	17	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#916	23	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#518	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1977 and 2024, ranked in 30 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #518, first reached in 1977.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 27 births, registered in England and Wales in 2015.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 18 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 19 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Hershy · #1984, 20y
Hessa · #3218, 15y
Heston · #1175, 18y
Het · #2199, 10y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Amine · #518, 29y
Christa · #518, 25y
Eren · #518, 29y
Fawaz · #518, 28y

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1970 and 1979.

Christa · #518, 25y
Janie · #518, 22y
Nathania · #518, 30y
Evita · #522, 24y

Hester was ranked #518 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1977. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Hester and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Hester without appearing here.

Hester moved ahead of

Denise Compare
In 2019 they stood at #2040 and #2040 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #1773 and #4535.
Brittany Compare
In 2005 they stood at #1500 and #1500 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2006 that had become #1435 and #3548.
Siobhán Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2888 and #2888 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #1863 and #3598.
Sinead Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1863 and #1705 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2574 and #3695.

Moved ahead of Hester

Rory Compare
In 2021 they stood at #2073 and #2201 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2022 that had become #2888 and #1452.
Marilyn Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1863 and #2063 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2574 and #1541.
Amalie Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1728 and #3998 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #1784 and #938.
Sienna Compare
In 1998 they stood at #955 and #1122 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1999 that had become #1473 and #641.

Moved the opposite way to Hester

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Hester went from #916 to #2574 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Hester went from #916 to #2574 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Hester went from #916 to #2574 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Hester went from #916 to #2574 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Hester

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Hester went from #916 to #2574 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Hester went from #916 to #2574 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Hester went from #916 to #2574 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Hester went from #916 to #2574 and Alex from #161 to #2253.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1977 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #518 in Republic of Ireland in 1977. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Hester

Hester at a glance

What stands out in Hester's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Hester by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Hester appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Hester

Hester and the names beside it

Hester moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Hester

Moved the opposite way to Hester

Moved the same way as Hester

Hester at a glance

What stands out in Hester's record

Hester by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Hester appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Hester

Hester and the names beside it

Hester moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Hester

Moved the opposite way to Hester

Moved the same way as Hester