Home › Baby Names Directory › Vestal
Vestal
How to Pronounce Vestal
Pronounced VES-tul /ˈvɛs.təl/High
Meaning: Vestal comes from the Latin vestalis, 'belonging to Vesta,' the Roman goddess of the hearth and home whose priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, kept her sacred fire; as an American given name it was also used as a surname-name.Medium
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
Vestal derives from the Latin vestalis, tied to Vesta, the Roman goddess of hearth and home. In the American South it circulated both as a surname and, less often, as a given name in the early twentieth century.
Vestal was never common as a first name, given to only about twenty boys a year at its peak around 1922, and it has stayed rare since. It reads today as an unusual, classically rooted heritage name.
Variations
Nicknames
Famous Bearers
- Famous bearers coming soon.
If you like Vestal…
Explore names like Vestal
Frequently Asked
What does the name Vestal mean?
It comes from the Latin vestalis, 'of Vesta,' the Roman goddess of the hearth and home.
How do you pronounce Vestal?
It is said VES-tul /ˈvɛs.təl/, two syllables with the stress on the first.
Is Vestal a boy or girl name?
Vestal is used here as a boy's name.
How popular is Vestal?
It has always been rare in the United States as a first name, given to only about twenty boys a year at its peak in the early nineteen-twenties.