boys' name ★ peaked 1918

Lester

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #1,641 Trend → Stable
Rank 2025
#1,641
among boys · ↓73 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
103
named Lester · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 16,583
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1918
3,265 babies
All-time total
132,047
#255 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Lester popularity over time

132,047 babies have been named Lester since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 11 1,440 1,451 145 – #82
1890s 60 2,702 2,762 276 +90% #62
1900s 104 4,361 4,465 447 +62% #52
1910s 223 21,509 21,732 2,173 +387% #57
1920s 329 26,513 26,842 2,684 +24% #66
1930s 180 16,984 17,164 1,716 -36% #95
1940s 148 17,082 17,230 1,723 0% #116
1950s 147 16,568 16,715 1,672 -3% #148
1960s 94 9,741 9,835 984 -41% #213
1970s 46 5,110 5,156 516 -48% #297
1980s 17 3,570 3,587 359 -30% #370
1990s – 2,080 2,080 208 -42% #603
2000s – 1,373 1,373 137 -34% #1,019
2010s – 1,045 1,045 105 -24% #1,359
2020s (to 2025) – 610 610 102 -3% #1,533

Where Lester is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 104 0.06 outside top 500
2027 105 0.06 outside top 500
2028 105 0.06 outside top 500
2029 106 0.06 outside top 500
2030 107 0.06 outside top 500

Where Lester is most popular

Boys named Lester per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.058 per 1,000. Strongest in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Lester born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Pennsylvania 42 0.158 +173%
Ohio 31 0.117 +102%
Florida 36 0.076 +31%
New Jersey 14 0.070 +20%
New York 22 0.051 -12%
Missouri 7 0.051 -13%
Louisiana 5 0.049 -16%
Michigan 10 0.049 -16%
North Carolina 11 0.043 -26%
Wisconsin 5 0.042 -27%
Texas 37 0.042 -28%
Indiana 6 0.037 -35%
California 31 0.034 -42%
Tennessee 6 0.033 -43%
Georgia 6 0.024 -59%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Lester

Lester is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,641 in 2025 with 103 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 132,047 American babies have been named Lester. Its peak came in 1918, when 3,265 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Lester stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Lester?

The median living Lester is about 67 years old; half are between 52 and 76. An estimated 45 thousand people named Lester are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Lester year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 103 #1,641
2024 – – 111 #1,568
2023 – – 82 #1,921
2022 – – 96 #1,744
2021 – – 109 #1,588
2020 – – 109 #1,533
2019 – – 100 #1,639
2018 – – 93 #1,695
2017 – – 88 #1,760
2016 – – 105 #1,570
2015 – – 104 #1,561
2014 – – 106 #1,520
2013 – – 125 #1,359
2012 – – 104 #1,537
2011 – – 102 #1,556
2010 – – 118 #1,411
2009 – – 127 #1,358
2008 – – 142 #1,231
2007 – – 120 #1,379
2006 – – 146 #1,159
2005 – – 128 #1,239
2004 – – 137 #1,148
2003 – – 148 #1,053
2002 – – 139 #1,081
2001 – – 142 #1,039
2000 – – 144 #1,019
1995 – – 179 #801
1990 – – 260 #631
1985 6 #10,045 321 #485
1980 6 #9,759 466 #370
1975 – – 497 #344
1970 9 #5,624 680 #297
1965 8 #5,088 956 #237
1960 12 #3,819 1,316 #213
1955 15 #3,046 1,691 #168
1950 14 #2,843 1,758 #148
1945 13 #2,541 1,618 #131
1940 19 #1,872 1,591 #116
1935 18 #1,883 1,626 #114
1930 24 #1,638 2,020 #95
1925 22 #1,872 2,559 #81
1920 33 #1,390 3,068 #69
1915 28 #1,354 2,943 #57
1910 10 #1,578 556 #64
1905 18 #887 432 #57
1900 10 #1,276 431 #60
1895 5 #1,722 295 #68
1890 5 #1,431 226 #76
1885 – – 141 #102
1880 – – 109 #121

Famous people named Lester

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Lester Bangs Lester Bangs American music critic (1948–1982) Contemporary
  2. 2 Lester B. Pearson Lester B. Pearson Prime Minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968 1897–1972 · 19th century
  3. 3 Lester Young Lester Young American jazz saxophonist (1909–1959) Contemporary
  4. 4 Lester Speight Lester Speight American professional wrestler and actor b. 1963 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Lester del Rey Lester del Rey American science fiction author (1915–1993) Contemporary
  6. 6 Lester Bowie Lester Bowie American jazz trumpeter and composer (1941–1999) Contemporary
  7. 7 Lester Bird Lester Bird Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004 b. 1938 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Lester R. Brown Lester R. Brown American environmental analyst b. 1934 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Lester Allan Pelton Lester Allan Pelton American mechanical engineer 1829–1908 · 19th century
  10. 10 Lester Germer Lester Germer American physicist 1896–1971 · 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Lester, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Lester?

The median living Lester is about 67 years old. Half of all living Lesters are between 52 and 76 years old.

How many people named Lester are alive today?

An estimated 45 thousand people named Lester are alive in the United States, based on 132,047 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Lester in 2025?

Lester ranked #1,641 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 103 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Lester?

132,047 babies have been named Lester in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Lester most popular?

Lester peaked in 1918, when 3,265 newborns received the name.

Is Lester a boy or girl name?

Lester is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Lester rising or falling?

Lester has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Lester become more popular?

Lester looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 107 boys named Lester in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Lester?

Well-known people named Lester include Lester Bangs (writer), Lester B. Pearson (politician), Lester Young (musician).

Names like Lester

Names that sound and feel close to Lester: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Lester with similar names → More names starting with L →