Ester
Barely 300 women in Poland carry it, so meeting one sticks in the memory. But it's climbing now, with more girls given the name lately than in the quiet years before. From the Hebrew Estera, "star".
Ester Pronunciation
Ester is pronounced ES-ter (/ˈɛstɛr/).
What Ester means
Where Ester comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Ester comes from Hebrew, and the meaning handed down with it is plain: star. Trace the word back and you reach an old Persian root for star, which some philologists tie further to Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess whose name shares that sound. The sense of star settled onto the name early, long before anyone spelled it Ester.
The name belongs first to the Book of Esther. There the heroine carries a Hebrew name, Hadassah, and takes the name Ester at the Persian court, where she becomes queen and saves her people. Jewish communities still read her story each Purim.
In a Polish class register the form stands without a diminutive of its own, four letters and no fuss. Short. It reaches Polish through Latin and Scripture rather than through any local saint, which is one reason it feels both familiar and imported. And the meaning holds where it began, at star.
How many people are named Ester
1 in 71568 women in Poland is named Ester. 315 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1700 among female names.
Ester's popularity over time
9 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #731 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2021.
Where parents choose Ester
Ester is most popular in Lower Silesian, 285% above the national average (7 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Masovian (+144%) and Pomeranian (+17%). It is least common in Lesser Poland and Silesian, both 24% below average.
-
Lower Silesian
+285%1 in 22,448 babies
-
Masovian
+144%1 in 35,427 babies
-
Pomeranian
+17%1 in 73,661 babies
-
Lesser Poland
−24%1 in 113,458 babies
-
Silesian
−24%1 in 113,792 babies
-
Greater Poland
−20%1 in 107,622 babies
-
Lower Silesian+285% 7 born1 in 22,448 babies+285%
-
Masovian+144% 10 born1 in 35,427 babies+144%
-
Pomeranian+17% 2 born1 in 73,661 babies+17%
-
Greater Poland−20% 2 born1 in 107,622 babies−20%
-
Lesser Poland−24% 2 born1 in 113,458 babies−24%
-
Silesian−24% 2 born1 in 113,792 babies−24%
Ester as a middle name
Ester is a first name for 315 women in Poland and a middle name for another 174, a 64/36 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 513th, between Bella (174) and Rafaela (174).
-
#511 Jasmina176
-
#512 Bella174
-
#513 Ester174
-
#514 Rafaela174
-
#515 Sofie173