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

Popular baby names in New York City, 2024

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

Last year, New York City welcomed more than 100,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Mia and Noah, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Here are NYC’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Mia, 422 baby girls
  2. Emma
  3. Sophia
  4. Leah
  5. Isabella
  6. Zoe
  7. Olivia
  8. Chloe
  9. Sofia
  10. Esther

Boy names

  1. Noah, 722 baby boys
  2. Liam
  3. Ethan
  4. David
  5. Lucas
  6. Jacob
  7. Joseph
  8. Aiden
  9. Dylan (tie)
  10. Muhammad (tie)

One year earlier, in 2023, the top names in New York City were Emma and Liam.

Sources: Mia and Noah Top List of Most Popular Baby Names in New York City – NYC Health, Provisional Birth and Death Data – NYC Health

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

Popular and unique baby names in Sweden, 2024

Flag of Sweden
Flag of Sweden

Last year, the Scandinavian country of Sweden welcomed 98,451 babies.

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

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

Girl names

  1. Alma, 568 baby girls
  2. Alice, 565
  3. Olivia, 552
  4. Elsa, 550
  5. Vera, 546
  6. Saga, 486
  7. Selma, 484
  8. Astrid, 473
  9. Ella, 472
  10. Signe, 458
  11. Freja, 455
  12. Ellie, 454
  13. Stella, 427
  14. Alba, 408
  15. Maja, 398
  16. Agnes, 373
  17. Alva, 367
  18. Leah, 350
  19. Hedda, 346
  20. Ebba, 340
  21. Mila, 322
  22. Luna, 319
  23. Lilly, 310
  24. Wilma, 303
  25. Iris, 300
  26. Ines, 291
  27. Juni, 290
  28. Alicia, 288
  29. Sigrid, 283
  30. Ellen, 254
  31. Ester, 251
  32. Leia, 248
  33. Nora, 244
  34. Majken, 242
  35. Lykke, 241
  36. Julia, 238
  37. Lily, 237 (tie)
  38. Molly, 237 (tie)
  39. Edith, 227
  40. Hilma, 224
  41. Elvira, 222
  42. Sally, 216
    • It’s so interesting to see Sally rising in Sweden. (It entered Sweden’s top 100 around 2013.) In the U.S., Sally has never made the top 50 — but it did come close in the late 1930s.
  43. Celine, 211
  44. Clara, 205
  45. Nova, 198
  46. Ingrid, 194
  47. Ilse, 190
  48. Livia, 189
  49. Bonnie, 185 (tie)
  50. Esther, 185 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 692 baby boys
  2. William, 574
  3. Hugo, 567
  4. Liam, 548
  5. Adam, 538 (tie)
  6. August, 538 (tie)
  7. Nils, 527
  8. Leo, 515
  9. Oliver, 514
  10. Otto, 491
  11. Sam, 490
  12. Alfred, 482
  13. Elias, 478
  14. Malte, 463
  15. Leon, 422
  16. Frans, 420
  17. Charlie, 404
  18. Ludvig, 396
  19. Ted, 377
  20. Theo, 376
  21. Valter, 375
  22. Olle, 371
  23. Gabriel, 347
  24. Arvid, 345
  25. Elliot, 343 (tie)
  26. Lucas, 343 (tie)
  27. Tage, 328
  28. Harry, 320
  29. Henry, 303 (tie)
  30. Theodor, 303 (tie)
  31. Björn, 291
  32. Ebbe, 285
  33. Vincent, 284
  34. Walter, 280
  35. Alexander, 277 (tie)
  36. Adrian, 277 (tie)
  37. Benjamin, 272
  38. Oscar, 264 (tie)
  39. Melker, 264 (tie)
  40. Elton, 260
  41. Jack, 259
  42. Noel, 258
  43. Axel, 251
  44. Kian, 244
  45. Viggo, 229
  46. Albin, 225
  47. Ivar, 224
  48. Lukas, 223
  49. Matteo, 218
  50. Julian, 217 (tie)
  51. Levi, 217 (tie)

In the girls’ top 10, Saga replaced Ellie.

In the boys’ top 10, Leo and Otto replaced Elias and Sam.

Four of the fastest-rising names were Celine and Junie (for girls) and Bo and Björn (for boys).

Lower down in the rankings I spotted…

  • Penny (65 girls)
    • Five more were named Pennie.
  • Tindra (23 girls) – means “to twinkle” in Swedish
  • Buster (10 boys)
  • Tintin (6 girls, 4 boys)
  • Texas (8 boys, 1 girl)
    • Three more boys were named Tex, Texan, and Texaz.
  • Grim (7 boys)
  • Tibelia (5 girls)
  • Fenrir (4 boys) – a giant wolf in Norse mythology
  • Figge (4 boys) – a nickname for Fredrik
  • Styrbjörn (3 boys)
  • Lioness (2 girls)
  • Valiant (2 boys)

And here’s a sampling of the thousands of names that were bestowed just once in Sweden last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Allikin, Borealis, Cindelle, Darshini, Eldfrid, Frigg, Gizi, Hafdís, Issoria, Javeline, Kiwi, Lupin, Majliss, Ninorta, Orchidée, Päivi, Ririka, Siglind, Tanangoo, Unnati, Vyllma, Wanyin, Yangkyi, ZeelineAlfrid, Brighter, Carwill, Dharav, Ejvind, Fafner, Gizmo, Hjälte, Imron, Jojje, Khangarid, Lindorm, Michigan, Nexus, Orchlon, Prodromos, Reijo, Sigsten, Thimmy, Ulve, Vigor, Wheffy, Yazn, Zirrar

Some definitions/explanations for a few of the above:

  • Allikin is the main character of the Swedish children’s book Allikin (1986) by Runo Lindskog.
  • Borealis is a Latin word meaning “northern.”
  • Frigg is a Norse goddess.
    • The word Friday comes from the Old English word frigedæg, meaning “Frigg’s day.”
  • Hafdís is an Icelandic name made up of elements meaning “sea” and “goddess.”
  • Hjälte means “hero” in Swedish.
  • Jojje is a diminutive of Georg, the Swedish form of George.
  • Khangarid is the Mongolian name for Garuda, a mythical bird-like deity in Hinduism and Buddhism.
    • The emblem of Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, features a Khangarid.
  • Lindorm refers to a mythical snake-like creature in Nordic folklore.
  • Päivi is a diminutive of the Finnish name Päivikki, which is based on the word päivä, meaning “day.”
  • Prodromos is an Ancient Greek word meaning “forerunner.”
  • Unnati is a Sanskrit word meaning “ascending” or “advancement.”

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Sweden (public domain)

Popular baby names in Denmark, 2024

Flag of Denmark
Flag of Denmark

Last year, the Scandinavian country of Denmark welcomed 57,079 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma and Oscar.

Here are Denmark’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Emma, 445 baby girls
  2. Ella, 437
  3. Luna, 423
  4. Alma, 415
  5. Frida, 408
  6. Olivia, 390
  7. Ida, 387
  8. Agnes, 382
  9. Karla, 379
  10. Nora, 373
  11. Sofia, 367
  12. Ellie, 351 (tie)
  13. Lily, 351 (tie)
  14. Freja, 348
  15. Clara, 302
  16. Asta, 296
  17. Anna, 294
  18. Alberte, 276
  19. Esther, 260
  20. Ellen, 256
  21. Aya, 231
  22. Astrid, 227
  23. Isabella, 220
  24. Josefine, 201
  25. Leonora, 199
  26. Hannah, 198 (tie)
  27. Lærke, 198 (tie)
  28. Vilma, 198
  29. Saga, 193
  30. Laura, 187
  31. Vera, 182
  32. Mathilde, 178
  33. Emily, 176
  34. Ingrid, 174
  35. Mille, 173
  36. Maja, 166 (tie)
  37. Marie, 166 (tie)
  38. Elina, 163 (tie)
  39. Liva, 163 (tie)
  40. Solvej, 161
  41. Liv, 156
  42. Eva, 153
  43. Merle, 147
  44. Victoria, 146
  45. Andrea, 145
  46. Molly, 140
  47. Kaja, 138 (3-way tie)
  48. Lea, 138 (3-way tie)
  49. Søs, 138 (3-way tie)
  50. Gry, 137

Boy names

  1. Oscar, 483 baby boys
  2. Carl, 466
  3. William, 457
  4. Noah, 440
  5. August, 437
  6. Aksel, 429
  7. Emil, 428
  8. Oliver, 423
  9. Alfred, 414
  10. Theo, 393
  11. Elliot, 378
  12. Malthe, 361
  13. Hugo, 356
  14. Arthur, 354
  15. Valdemar, 347
  16. Elias, 335
  17. Otto, 334
  18. Viggo, 328
  19. Lucas, 326
  20. Matheo, 290
  21. Lauge, 286
  22. Felix, 276
  23. Theodor, 258
  24. Liam, 256
  25. Conrad, 249
  26. Anker, 247
  27. Magnus, 246
  28. Holger, 244
  29. Erik, 242 (tie)
  30. Louie, 242 (tie)
  31. Luca, 238
  32. Anton, 235
  33. Victor, 234
  34. Ebbe, 227
  35. Vincent, 206
  36. Storm, 180
  37. Pelle, 179
  38. Nohr, 173 (tie)
  39. Walter, 173 (tie)
  40. Kalle, 171
  41. Albert, 166
  42. Atlas, 159
  43. Asger, 158 (tie)
  44. Frederik, 158 (tie)
  45. Vilhelm, 155
  46. Marius, 150
  47. Alexander, 146
  48. Johan, 144
  49. Bjørn, 139
  50. Adam, 138

Frida and Carl, the No. 1 names of 2023, are now in fifth and second place, respectively.

In the girls’ top 10, Nora replaced Sofia.

In the boys’ top 10, August and Theo replaced Malthe and Valdemar.

And the curious girl name Søs — short for Søster, the Danish word for “sister” — has been on the rise recently:

  • 2024: 138 baby girls named Søs in Denmark
  • 2023: 99 baby girls named Søs in Denmark
  • 2022: 79 baby girls named Søs in Denmark
  • 2021: 43 baby girls named Søs in Denmark
  • 2020: 20 baby girls named Søs in Denmark
  • 2019: 18 baby girls named Søs in Denmark

I can’t account for its trendiness, but I can tell you that the English equivalent, Sis, has never appeared in the U.S. data. (The name Sister has, though.)

Sources: Baby names – Statistics Denmark, Births – Statistics Denmark, Søs – Nordic Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of Denmark (public domain)

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)