| Hester | Zarina | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Star (disputed) | golden |
| Origin | persian | persian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | HES-ter | zah-REE-nah |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1918 (394) | 2015 (95) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Hester | Zarina |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10 | 403 |
| 2010s | 12 | 575 |
| 2000s | 15 | 286 |
| 1990s | 49 | 178 |
| 1980s | 154 | 113 |
| 1970s | 239 | 46 |
| 1960s | 348 | 11 |
| 1950s | 754 | 0 |
| 1940s | 1,115 | 0 |
| 1930s | 1,523 | 0 |
| 1920s | 3,037 | 0 |
| 1910s | 3,111 | 0 |
| 1900s | 1,663 | 0 |
| 1890s | 1,401 | 0 |
| 1880s | 796 | 0 |
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.
From Persian 'zar' (gold), meaning 'golden' or 'made of gold'. Widely used in Persian, Urdu and across South Asia. (Unrelated Slavic 'tsar/zora' associations are sometimes attached but are secondary.)
Hester and Zarina are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Hester means Star (disputed) (persian origin), while Zarina means golden (persian origin).
In US records, Hester first appears in 0 and Zarina in 0, so Hester has the longer recorded history.