How popular is the baby name Esther in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Esther.

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Popularity of the baby name Esther


Posts that mention the name Esther

Top Hebrew baby names in Israel, 5785

Flag of Israel
Flag of Israel

The country of Israel releases two sets of baby name rankings: one for the Gregorian year (e.g., 2024), the other for the Hebrew year.

I don’t usually post the Hebrew-year rankings, but I was intrigued by the latest set, which was released a couple of weeks before the end of 5785 (Oct. 2024 to Sep. 2025, roughly).

Below are Israel’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names — both overall and among Jewish residents specifically — for the Hebrew year 5785:

Girls names

Top girl names, all babiesTop girl names, Jewish babies
Avigail
Miriam
Libi
Tamar
Sara
Lia
Yael
Ella
Ayala
Noa		Avigail
Tamar
Libi
Yael
Sara
Ella
Noa
Lia
Ayala
Esther

Boy names

Top boy names, all babiesTop boy names, Jewish babies
Muhammad
Yosef
Adam
David
Lavie/Lavi
Ariel
Omar
Rafael
Uri
Yehuda		Lavie/Lavi
Ariel
David
Rafael
Uri
Yehuda
Eliya
Ari
Eitan
Micha’el

The news release suggested that Lavi, which means “lion” in Hebrew, became the most popular name for Jewish boys due to the influence of Israel’s Operation Am KeLavi (“a people like a lion”), which was launched against Iran in June of 2025. (The war lasted 12 days.)

Except…Lavi has been close to the top spot for several years now. It ranked #2 among Jewish boys in both 2023 and 2020, for instance. So did the headlines really push Lavi to #1, or would it have ended up there regardless?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Israel (public domain)

Popular baby names in the Dominican Republic, 2023

Flag of the Dominican Republic
Flag of the Dominican Republic

Two years ago, the Dominican Republic welcomed over 156,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Isabella and Adriel.

Here are DR’s top 15 girl names and top 15 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Isabella, 482 baby girls
  2. Abigaíl, 478
  3. Alaia, 410
  4. Valentina, 388
  5. Esther, 370
  6. Elianny, 346
  7. Ashley, 316
  8. Charlotte, 312
  9. Camila, 308
  10. Zoe, 272
  11. Génesis, 260
  12. Emma, 258
  13. Victoria, 248
  14. Daniela, 244
  15. Esmeralda, 240

Boy names

  1. Adriel, 334 baby boys
  2. Emmanuel, 290
  3. Sebastián, 288
  4. Alexander, 276
  5. Liam, 262
  6. Gael, 252
  7. Daniel, 249
  8. Isaac, 246
  9. Ismael, 245
  10. Samuel, 241
  11. David, 232
  12. Jayden, 230
  13. Dariel, 229
  14. Aarón, 224
  15. Thiago, 221

A year earlier, in 2022, the top names were Abigaíl and Sebastián.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of the Dominican Republic (public domain)

Popular baby names (and Maori baby names) in New Zealand, 2024

Flag of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand

Last year, the island nation of New Zealand welcomed a total of 59,199 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Isla and Noah.

Here are New Zealand’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Isla, 190 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 183
  3. Charlotte, 173
  4. Lily, 158
  5. Isabella, 155
  6. Olivia, 154
  7. Hazel, 144
  8. Harper, 141
  9. Mia, 137
  10. Mila, 133
  11. Ava, 129 (tie)
  12. Ruby, 129 (tie)
  13. Sophie, 128
  14. Grace, 120
  15. Chloe, 114
  16. Ella, 113
  17. Aria, 112
  18. Willow, 107 (tie)
  19. Zoe, 107 (tie)
  20. Evelyn, 105 (tie)
  21. Millie, 105 (tie)
  22. Violet, 103
  23. Sophia, 102
  24. Daisy, 101
  25. Freya, 97
  26. Lucy, 96
  27. Ivy, 94
  28. Sienna, 92
  29. Emily, 91
  30. Amaia, 89 (tie)
  31. Matilda, 89 (tie)
  32. Olive, 88
  33. Margot, 87
  34. Kaia, 85 (tie)
  35. Maeve, 85 (tie)
  36. Ellie, 82
  37. Billie, 81 (tie)
  38. Layla, 81 (tie)
  39. Frankie, 80
  40. Stella, 79
  41. Georgia, 78 (tie)
  42. Sadie, 78 (tie)
  43. Maia, 77 (tie)
  44. Sofia, 77 (tie)
  45. Aurora, 74 (tie)
  46. Elsie, 74 (tie)
  47. Penelope, 72 (tie)
  48. Poppy, 72 (tie)
  49. Luna, 71
  50. Eden, 70 (3-way tie)
  51. Florence, 70 (3-way tie)
  52. Riley, 70 (3-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 250 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 228
  3. Leo, 202
  4. George, 198 (tie)
  5. Jack, 198 (tie)
  6. Luca, 192
  7. Theodore, 189
  8. Elijah, 159
  9. Theo, 158
  10. Arthur, 152
  11. Charlie, 149
  12. James, 141
  13. Lucas, 137
  14. Henry, 135
  15. Arlo, 132 (3-way tie)
  16. Hudson, 132 (3-way tie)
  17. William, 132 (3-way tie)
  18. Archie, 131
  19. Lachlan, 121
  20. Cooper, 116
  21. Ezra, 114 (tie)
  22. Finn, 114 (tie)
  23. Liam, 113 (tie)
  24. Thomas, 113 (tie)
  25. Ethan, 106 (4-way tie)
  26. Hugo, 106 (4-way tie)
  27. Levi, 106 (4-way tie)
  28. Oscar, 106 (4-way tie)
  29. Hunter, 105
  30. Max, 101
  31. Carter, 98 (tie)
  32. Louie, 98 (tie)
  33. Mason, 97
  34. Felix, 94
  35. Asher, 93
  36. Archer, 87 (3-way tie)
  37. Austin, 87 (3-way tie)
  38. Daniel, 87 (3-way tie)
  39. Beau, 85 (tie)
  40. Luke, 85 (tie)
  41. Benjamin, 84
  42. Alexander, 82
  43. Luka, 79 (tie)
  44. Roman, 79 (tie)
  45. Jasper, 78
  46. Elias, 77
  47. Riley, 76
  48. Joseph, 74
  49. Harvey, 72
  50. Louis, 71

The girls’ top 100 included Mackenzie (66th), Asees (80th), Arabella (89th), and Esther (92nd).

The boys’ top 100 included Zorawar (55th), Oakley (59th), Atlas (78th), and Bodhi (97th).

And what about Maori names specifically?

The top Maori baby names in New Zealand in 2024 — just like in 2023, and 2022 — were Aroha/Te Aroha for girls and Ariki/Te Ariki for boys.

Here are New Zealand’s top 10 Maori girl names and top 10 Maori boy names:

Maori girl names

  1. Aroha/Te Aroha, 173 baby girls
  2. Maia/Te Maia, 137
  3. Moana/Te Moana, 84
  4. Anahera/Te Anahera, 66
  5. Atarangi/Te Atarangi, 60
  6. Manaia, 58
  7. Rangimarie/Te Rangimarie, 54
  8. Rangi/Te Rangi, 49
  9. Marama/Te Marama, 48
  10. Tui, 45

Maori boy names

  1. Ariki/Te Ariki, 137 baby boys
  2. Wiremu, 100
  3. Koa, 76
  4. Mikaere, 74
  5. Rangi/Te Rangi, 70
  6. Nikau, 68
  7. Rawiri, 65
  8. Kiwa, 55
  9. Kahurangi/Te Kahurangi, 52
  10. Manaaki, 51

(Please note that I’ve simplified these lists a bit, because Maori names/words that contain macrons don’t render properly on my site.)

Interestingly, the Maori rankings don’t cover the calendar year 2024, like New Zealand’s national rankings do. Instead, they cover births from July 1, 2024, to June 18, 2025. These dates coincide with Matariki, a.k.a. Maori New Year.

Sources: Top Baby Names – New Zealand Government, Top baby names for 2024 – Beehive.govt.nz, Aroha/Te Aroha and Ariki/Te Ariki top Maori baby names of 2024/2025 – dia.govt.nz

Image: Adapted from Flag of New Zealand (public domain)

Popular baby names in New York City, 2023

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

Last year, New York City welcomed 98,389 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma (for the seventh year in a row) and Liam (for the eighth year in a row), according to the New York City Health Department.

Here are NYC’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Emma, 382 baby girls
  2. Mia
  3. Sophia
  4. Olivia
  5. Isabella
  6. Amelia
  7. Leah (ranked 53rd for girls nationally in 2023)
  8. Chloe (26th)
  9. Luna
  10. Sofia (12th)

Boy names

  1. Liam, 743 baby boys
  2. Noah
  3. David (ranked 27th for boys nationally in 2023)
  4. Lucas
  5. Jacob (36th)
  6. Ethan (25th)
  7. Joseph (29th)
  8. Dylan (34th)
  9. Michael [tie] (16th)
  10. Muhammad [tie] (272nd)

In the girls’ top 10, Chloe and Sofia replaced Ava and Esther.

In the boys’ top 10, Dylan, Michael, and Muhammad replaced Aiden, Daniel, and Alexander.

Both Dylan and Muhammad — which was the #1 boy name in England and Wales last year — are new to NYC’s top 10. Michael, on the other hand, was a “favorite among New Yorkers from 1980 to 2006.”

The Health Department’s news release also mentioned dozens of other Big Apple baby names, including…

Girl namesBoy names
Esther (ranked 12th), Miriam (15th), Aurora (41st), Violet (45th), Rose (52nd), Eleanor (56th), Gemma (78th), Athena (79th), Savannah (85th), Iris (87th), Daisy (93rd), Sage (100th)Alexander (ranked 17th), Zion (62nd), Leonardo (65th), Milan (70th), Adonis (76th), Amari (78th)

Finally, here’s a link to New York City’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to check them out.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)