What does Esther mean?
Widely glossed as 'star', most often derived from Old Persian 'stara' (compare modern Persian 'setareh', and Greek 'aster'). The exact root is debated: some scholars instead link it to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar (associated with Venus), and a Hebrew folk etymology ties it to the root s-t-r ('to hide'). Included with that caveat.
What does Hester mean?
A medieval English variant of Esther, carrying the same widely-accepted 'star' sense (via Old Persian 'stara') and the same unresolved debate over whether the root is the word for star or the goddess Ishtar. Known from Hawthorne's Hester Prynne.