Estelle
Feminine · “star”
Estelle is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 56,410 girls against 159 boys since 1880.
Estelle comes from the Latin word for star, carried into English through French, and it has been in continuous use in the United States since records began. Three syllables that land softly on the second — the same shape as Michelle and Danielle — and a name that has been quietly cycling back into use after a long stretch on the shelf.
How old is the name Estelle?
Estelle was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Estelle alive today was born around 1921, making them about 104 years old. About 14,000 people named Estelle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Estelle most popular?
Estelle peaked in 1911, reaching #106 nationally. Today it ranks #573, 467 places below that high. See the whole 1911 chart.
Where it comes from
From Stella to Estelle
The story of Estelle
The root is the Latin stella, star, which gave Old French Estelle and the Spanish and Portuguese Estela. In southwestern France the name attached to Saint Estelle of Saintes, an early martyr venerated in the Charente region, and the form stayed alive in French and Occitan use for centuries. English speakers took it up in the nineteenth century, the same era in which Charles Dickens gave the closely related Estella to the cool, unreachable ward of Great Expectations. It arrived in American records at the very start of national name-keeping and has never quite left them.
Meaning
star
From Latin stella, 'star', by way of the Old French form Estelle.
How the name formed
- Stella
- Estelle
- Estella
- Estela
Related forms: Estelle · Estela · Estela · Estella · Stella · Estela
Pronouncing Estelle
eh-STEL
Stress on the second syllable in both English and French. French speakers say it much the same way, with a crisper final consonant.
Nicknames for Estelle
High
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
- 19161,772 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #106reached in 1911
- Change vs 2022
- +29.1%523 in 2025, from 405
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.
Estelle in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Estelle in French — same name
- Estela in Spanish — same name
- Estela in Portuguese — same name
- Estella in English — spelling variant
- Stella in Latin — related form
- Estela in Occitan — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Estelles among us
people named Estelle are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 3,073 born in 2025 was named Estelle
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
Estelle is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Estelle is headed
Estelle should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Estelle beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Estelle in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled the way it sounds for most English speakers, with only the Estelle/Estella distinction to clarify.
- Has established short forms already in real use — Essie, Stella, Elle — rather than ones you would have to invent.
- Travels across French, Spanish and Portuguese with only a small change of spelling.
- On American records continuously since name-keeping began, so it has never needed reintroducing.
- It sits in a crowded neighborhood of sound: Estella, Estela, Stella and Esther are all close enough that people will occasionally reach for the wrong one, in speech and in writing.
- The great mass of American Estelles belongs to much older generations, so the name still reads as a grandmother-era one to many ears — which is precisely why it is coming back, but worth knowing.
- Stella is currently the far more familiar of the two, and an Estelle may find herself shortened to it by default unless the family sets a different habit early.
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Put Estelle to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Estelle
Feminine · #573 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Estelles are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 14,000 people named Estelle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Estelle in 2025?
- Estelle ranks #573 among US girl names in 2025, with 523 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Estelle?
- About 1 in every 3,073 US girls born in 2025 was named Estelle — 523 in all.
- Will my child share the name Estelle with classmates?
- Estelle will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Estelle
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lina#572 · Sevyn#574 · Cali#574 · Miller#571 · Mckenzie#576 · Allie#569 · Hadassah#569 · Cleo#577
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Estelle? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Estelle and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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