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Lester

♂ Boy

Pronounced LES-tuhr /ˈlɛs.təɹ/Medium

Meaning: From the English place name Leicester, meaning a Roman camp (Latin 'castra') by the river Legra.Medium

In 30 seconds: Lester comes from the English place name Leicester, meaning a Roman camp by the river Legra, from Latin 'castra'. It is a sturdy, old-fashioned name with a history in the landscape.
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Origin MediumEnglish
MeaningFrom the English place name Leicester, meaning a Roman camp (Latin 'castra') by the river Legra.
U.S. rank (2024)#1580 ↗ Rising
2024 U.S. births109 boys (0.01% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1918
Total births (all-time)≈ 130,579

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 191818802024

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

History & Origin

Lester is the worn-down spoken form of Leicester, a town whose name joins the river Legra to the Latin 'castra', 'camp' or 'fort'. The place name became a surname and, in time, a first name. The result is a grounded English name rooted in Roman-era settlement.

The two settled syllables, LES-ter, give it a warm, vintage quality. The jazz tenor saxophonist Lester Young, a swing-era great nicknamed 'Prez', is among its notable bearers.

Did you know? Lester likely reached first-name use through a surname or place-name route, which gives it that modern borrowed-from-history feel.
Overall data confidence 78%
Behind the Name - Lester — etymology, usage, pronunciation, and related formsU.S. Social Security Administration — 2024 popularity rank and count supplied in the batch input CSV

Variations

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Nicknames

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Famous Bearers

  • ★Lester Young (1909-1959)
    American jazz tenor saxophonist, a major figure of the swing era nicknamed 'Prez'.

If you like Lester…

Chester— another English place name from Latin 'castra', 'camp', like Lester
Forrest— a vintage English nature-and-place name with a similar feel

Frequently Asked

What does the name Lester mean?

Lester is usually explained as meaning 'camp' and is most often linked with English tradition.

How do you pronounce Lester?

It's commonly said LES-tuhr /ˈlɛs.təɹ/.

Is Lester a boy or girl name?

In this batch and in recent U.S. usage data, Lester is used as a boy name.

How popular is Lester?

In 2024, Lester ranked #1580 in the U.S. for boys, with 109 births recorded.