Estelle
The story
Estelle is an Old French name meaning "star", ultimately from the Latin stella, rare in the English-speaking world in the Middle Ages and revived in the nineteenth century, perhaps, says Behind the Name, due to Estella Havisham in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations of 1860. The American record runs a full circle: about 3,490 girls in the 1890s, about 13,800 in the 1910s and about 12,300 in the 1920s, then a long fade all the way to about 390 in the 1990s. The turn came next: about 970 in the 2000s, about 2,890 in the 2010s, and about 2,510 so far this decade. A star in Old French, a Dickens heroine with a hedge on her influence, and a name relighting a century after it dimmed.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Estelle peaked in the 1900s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
62 people · the #57,499 first name in Brazil · median age 20
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Estelle
People given the name Estelle in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Estelle deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Estelle truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Estelle fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Estelle travels
Jewish American · a beloved heirloom name enjoying a modern revival
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Estelle · French baby names · Jewish American baby names · Romantic names
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