Ether

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Ether

Pronounced EE-thur /ˈi.θər/Medium

Meaning: Ether is best read as a spelling variant of Esther, the biblical queen's name from Persian, usually explained as 'star' (linked to the goddess Ishtar). The identical spelling of the English word 'ether' is almost certainly a coincidence of orthography, not the source of the name.Low

In 30 seconds: Ether is most likely a spare spelling of Esther, 'star', said EE-thur; its match with the word 'ether' is a coincidence, not its meaning.

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Origin LowPersian, Hebrew

MeaningEther is best read as a spelling variant of Esther, the biblical queen's name from Persian, usually explained as 'star' (linked to the goddess Ishtar). The identical spelling of the English word 'ether' is almost certainly a coincidence of orthography, not the source of the name.

U.S. rank (1964)#6233 ↗ Rising

1964 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1921

Total births (all-time)≈ 1,214

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Ether is easy to misread as the old word for the upper air or the anesthetic, but as a girl's name it almost certainly began as a variant of Esther, the Persian-rooted biblical name usually glossed as 'star.' Dropping the s produced a spelling that happens to match an English word.

Its record sits in the early twentieth century, peaking around the nineteen-twenties and never common, given to only a few dozen girls at its height. Read honestly as Esther's cousin, it carries that name's biblical warmth while the word-coincidence remains just that.

Did you know? Ether looks like the science word but almost certainly began as a trimmed spelling of the biblical name Esther, popular in the same early-twentieth-century years.

Overall data confidence 40%

SSA national given-name data — arc 1883-1964, peak 1921Behind the Name - Esther — Persian 'star' etymology

Variations

EstherEsterHester

Nicknames

EssieEttie

Famous Bearers

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If you like Ether…

Esther— the biblical parent name

Ester— a plainer spelling of Esther

Hester— an older English form

Edith— a same-era vintage girl name

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Ether mean?

Ether is most likely a variant of Esther, from Persian for 'star'; its match with the English word 'ether' is a coincidence.

How do you pronounce Ether?

It's said EE-thur /ˈi.θər/ — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Ether a boy or girl name?

Ether has been used as a girl's name.

How popular is Ether?

Ether was always rare, given to only a few dozen girls a year around its early-twentieth-century peak, and it disappeared by mid-century.