Esta
Feminine · “Persian or Babylonian”
Esta is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 4,439 girls against 27 boys since 1880.
Esther has two names in her own book. Hadassah is the Hebrew one, and Esther is the Persian court name, probably built on the goddess Ishtar, which makes the story of a Jewish woman under an empire visible in her paperwork.
How old is the name Esta?
Esta was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Esta alive today was born around 1922, making them about 103 years old. About 1,100 people named Esta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Esta most popular?
Esta peaked in 1891, reaching #372 nationally. Today it ranks #10107, 9,735 places below that high. See the whole 1891 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ishtar to Esta
The story of Esta
The book of Esther is the only book in the Hebrew Bible that never mentions God, and its heroine has two names: Hadassah, a plain Hebrew word for the myrtle, and Esther, which belongs to the language of the empire she lives in and looks very much like the name of a Babylonian goddess. Her cousin Mordecai's name looks like Marduk's, the chief god of Babylon, in exactly the same way. Whatever the authors intended, the double naming reflects a practice that lasted two thousand years: a Hebrew name for the community and a local name for the world outside, kept in parallel across the Roman, Islamic, Slavic and Anglophone diasporas. Esta is a much later English clipping of that outward name, and it belongs to the generation whose records begin in 1880.
Meaningscholars disagree
Persian or Babylonian, possibly star or from Ishtar
Esta is a short form of Esther or Estella. Esther is generally derived either from Persian stara, a star, or from the Babylonian goddess Ishtar; neither is settled. The book names her Hadassah, myrtle, as her Hebrew name. The peak of Esta is 1891, near the start of the records.
How the name formed
- Ishtar
- Esther
- Esta
Related forms: Ester · Ester · Esther
Pronouncing Esta
ES-tuh
Two syllables, stress on the first. In Spanish-speaking use the same spelling is said ES-tah with a fuller final vowel.
Nicknames for Esta
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1920117 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #372reached in 1891
- Change vs 2022
- +50.0%9 in 2025, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Esta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ester in Hebrew — same name
- Ester in Spanish — same name
- Esther in English — same name
Estas among us
people named Esta are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 178,585 born in 2025 was named Esta
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Esta sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Esta beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Esta in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables, nothing silent.
- Esther and Estella are both available as formal versions.
- It works in English and Spanish without adjustment.
- Its 1891 peak sits at the edge of the records, so its earlier history is invisible.
- The meaning of Esther is genuinely unsettled.
- It is easily heard as Esther, Etta or Stella.
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Esta
Feminine · #10107 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Estas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Esta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Esta in 2025?
- Esta ranks #10107 among US girl names in 2025, with 9 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Esta?
- About 1 in every 178,585 US girls born in 2025 was named Esta — 9 in all.
- Will my child share the name Esta with classmates?
- Esta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Esta
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Berta#10107 · Jettie#10107 · Maye#10107 · Osa#10107 · Fidelia#10107 · Alysa#10107 · Su#10107 · Willie#10107
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Esta? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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