MEANING & HISTORY
What does Hester mean?
Hester is the Latin form of Esther and has an English history alongside that biblical name. Esther has been connected with Persian star, while another account relates it to the divine name Ishtar.
The alternatives concern the older base; they do not weaken the documented Hester-to-Esther formation. Hester also has a literary association through Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne. That character’s story is a cultural association rather than another etymology or a prediction about a modern bearer.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
From the Latin form of Esther.
A female given name from Persian, of 17th century and later usage.
Wiktionary: Hester (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
1
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Hester in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Hester
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Chester♂From Chester, ultimately Latin camp or fortress
- Ester♂♀Form of the biblical name Esther
- Lester♂Given name taken from an English surname
- Dexter♂Surname from a dyer; also Latin right-handed
- Heather♀English name of flowering heath shrubs
- Hector♂Holding fast
- Peter♂Stone or rock
- Webster·Weaver, through an English occupational surname
What rhymes with Hester?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
- ChesterEnglish · /-ɛstə(ɹ)/
- EstherEnglish · /-ɛstə(ɹ)/
- LesterEnglish · /-ɛstə(ɹ)/
- SylvesterEnglish · /-ɛstə(ɹ)/
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Explore Hester further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Hester (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Hester (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.
- Behind the Name — Esther (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.