seven reflections
Login
Lester Name Meaning, Origins & History

Lester

Pronunciation: LESS-ter

Meaning From Leicester Origin surnames Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#1,641
TREND
61
Peak Years
1918, 1921, 1920
Lowest Years
2023, 2017, 1881
Energy Archetype
Wise & Balanced

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Lester in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Lester

  • An established favorite: Lester held a place in the U.S. top 100 for 46 consecutive years, from 1886 through 1931.
  • More than 132 thousand babies named Lester: U.S. records list 132,041 babies given the name Lester from 1880 through 2025. Even 1,359 girls received the name Lester - about 1 girl for every 96 boys.

What Does the Name Lester Mean?

Lester is an English given name and surname. It comes from the place name Leicester in England, and as a surname it originally meant 'a person from Leicester.' The place name is recorded in Old English as Ligera ceaster or Ligore ceaster. The second element, ceaster, comes from Latin castrum and means 'Roman fort' or 'walled town.' The first element is less certain: it is often explained as a Celtic river name, perhaps referring to the River Soar, but some explanations take it as a personal name. Because the older element's meaning is not securely known, the usual literal gloss 'Roman fort on the River Soar' is a reasonable but not certain interpretation. The name Lester itself is a shortened form of the surname, not a direct translation of the place name's elements.

Lester Name History & Origins

The place that became Leicester was a Roman town known as Ratae Corieltauvorum. After the Roman period, Old English speakers gave it a name recorded as Ligera ceaster or Ligore ceaster, combining the older element with ceaster, 'Roman fort.' From this place name came the English surname Leicester and its shortened form Lester. In medieval England, hereditary surnames often identified where a person came from, so a man called Lester was usually 'the man from Leicester.' The surname is found in English records from the Middle Ages onward, and it spread to other English-speaking countries.

As a first name, Lester is a transferred surname. It is found as a given name by the 19th century, when surname-style first names became common in Britain and the United States. It appears in later English-language records and literature; for example, the central character of the 1999 film American Beauty is Lester Burnham. That modern use is separate from the name's earlier history as a place-derived surname.

How Popular is the Name Lester?

Lester remained among the top 100 boy names in the U.S. from 1886 to 1931. Its highest annual birth count was in 1918, and people born that year turn 108 in 2026.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

Explore Name Lists Featuring Lester

Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.

Established Favorite Boy Names

Established Boy Names: Favorites Through the Years

Explore More Lists with Name Lester

Most Popular Boy Names That Start with L

See List of Most Popular Boy Names Starting with L

How the Name Lester Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.

You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.

✦ Lester's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Lester's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
Explore Insights & Tips

Name Search