| Hester | Roxana | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Star (disputed) | Dawn, radiant |
| Origin | persian | Persian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | HES-ter | rok-SAN-ah |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1882 |
| Peak year | 1918 (394) | 1991 (315) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 77 |
| Trend | Vintage | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Hester | Roxana |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10 | 555 |
| 2010s | 12 | 1,270 |
| 2000s | 15 | 2,304 |
| 1990s | 49 | 2,517 |
| 1980s | 154 | 2,272 |
| 1970s | 239 | 944 |
| 1960s | 348 | 690 |
| 1950s | 754 | 588 |
| 1940s | 1,115 | 395 |
| 1930s | 1,523 | 185 |
| 1920s | 3,037 | 133 |
| 1910s | 3,111 | 67 |
| 1900s | 1,663 | 31 |
| 1890s | 1,401 | 17 |
| 1880s | 796 | 26 |
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.
Roxana means “dawn,” “bright” or “radiant”; she married Alexander the Great.
Roxana is more popular than Hester today: about 77 US babies were given the name Roxana in 2025, compared with 0 named Hester.
Hester means Star (disputed) (persian origin), while Roxana means Dawn, radiant (Persian origin).
In US records, Hester first appears in 0 and Roxana in 1882, so Hester has the longer recorded history.