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♀ Esther
What does Esther mean?
Esther 
▼ as a girls' name is pronounced ESS-ter. It is of Persian origin, and the meaning of Esther is "myrtle, bride; star". Biblical: a young beautiful Hebrew woman who became the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus, and risked herself to save her people. Jews celebrate the festival of Purim in memory of her. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah meaning both "myrtle" and "bride", and the form Esther is a Persian translation of it. It could also derive from Persian stara meaning "star", or be a Hebrew form of the name of the Persian goddess of love and fertility Ishtar. Esther has traditionally been given to girls born during the period of Purim, the feast that celebrates Esther's biblical achievements. The name was later taken up by the Puritans in the 17th century. Though not related in origin, Esther has been used before as an English form of the Irish Gaelic name Aislinn. Swimming actress Esther Williams; cosmetics pioneer Estée Lauder. Also form of Asta.
ENDS WITH -er
ASSOCIATED WITH star, biblical, young, beautiful, king (queen), jews (israeli), goddess, puritans, 17th century
Variations
VARIANTS Eppie, Eistir, Ess, Essie▼, Essy, Esta▼, Estee, Ester▼, Estera, Eszter, Ettey, Etti, Ettie▼, Etty, Hester▼, Hesther, Hetty, Hittie, Yesfir
SEE ALSO Easter, Estelle, Starla
CREATIVE FORMS(female)
(male)
MIDDLE NAME PAIRINGS
Esther Adira (E.A.), ..
How popular is Esther?
Esther is a very prominent first name for females (#132 out of 4276, Top 3%) and also a very prominent last name for all people (#38263 out of 150436, Top 25%). (2000 U.S. CENSUS)
Esther reached its peak rank of #33 in the U.S. in the 1900s, and is currently at #153. (2018 BIRTH STATISTICS)
Which version is better?
Hadassah (#730 IN 2018), Estelle (#836), Aislinn (#886), Ester (#1747), Easter, Eppie, Essie, Esta, Ettie, Hester, Hetty and Starla are the popular alternative forms of Esther (#153) ranked in the Top 2000. These relations of Esther were favored as baby names 118 years ago (AVERAGE #937) and have become much less popular since (#1565, 85% LESS USAGE), with forms like Ester becoming somewhat outmoded. Aislinn and Hadassah are two of the more contemporarily stylish names for newborns among these.
Similar Names
Esther▼ is alike in pronunciation to Wister. Other recommended sound-alike names are Cher, Edithe, Edythe▼, Ehtel, Eimer, Eimhir, Eithne, Elethea, Elshe, Eltha, Elthea, Ember▲, Emer, Ertha, Erthel (see Eartha), Esmae, Esme▲, Esmee, Esmie, Estel, Estela, Estele, Estell▼, Estrid, Etel, Eth, Etha, Ethel▼, Ethna, Ethnea, Ethnee, Ethni, Ethyl▼, Heather▼, Hether and Sher. These names tend to be less frequently used than Esther.
See names in meaning and etymology.[Top]
