Estell
A feminine name with origins meaning "star" or "shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 536 living Americans carry the first name Estell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Estell today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Estell births was 1920 (179 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Estell. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Estell is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Estells were born before 1958.
People living today
536
~ 1 in 639,467 Americans
Peak year
1920
179 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1971 SSA rank
#5,158
Tracked since 1880
Census
Estell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 591 people with the first name Estell, which placed it at #18,272 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,272
National first-name rank
People counted
591
591 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Estell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estell is Black at 42.5%. The next largest groups are White (39.9%) and Hispanic (11.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Estell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Estell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.5% · 251
- White39.9% · 236
- Hispanic or Latino11.3% · 67
- Two or more races3.4% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Estell
Estell leans heavily female at 88.5% of total registrations, but 551 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Estell as a male name
- Ranked #5,158 in 1971
- 5 male births in 1971
- Peak: 1916 (28 births)
Estell as a female name
- Ranked #10,771 in 1983
- 5 female births in 1983
- Peak: 1920 (155 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Estell leans strongly female. 500 people counted with this name were female (83.1%), compared with 102 male bearers (16.9%).
Popularity
Estell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Estell from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,316 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Estell by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Estell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Estells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. South Carolina, Alabama, Texas recorded the most babies named Estell, while Florida, Oklahoma, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 175 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Estell
The name Estell is a feminine given name with origins tracing back to the Latin language and the medieval era. It is derived from the Latin word "stella," which translates to "star." This connection suggests that the name was initially associated with celestial connotations, perhaps signifying radiance, beauty, or guidance like a shining star.
During the Middle Ages, the name Estell gained popularity across various regions of Europe, particularly in France and England. Its early roots can be found in the ancient French form "Estelle," which later evolved into the spelling variations of "Estell" and "Estell."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Estell appears in the 12th-century literary work "Roman de la Rose," a renowned medieval French allegorical poem. This reference underscores the name's long-standing presence in European culture and literature.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Estell. One such figure was Estell Ingram (1843-1894), an American schoolteacher and author from Ohio, who published works on education and women's rights during the late 19th century.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Estell Maddox (1893-1972), an American professional baseball player who competed in the Negro Leagues during the early 20th century, showcasing his exceptional athletic skills.
In the realm of art and literature, Estell Coster (1868-1959) was a celebrated Dutch-American illustrator and painter, renowned for her vibrant depictions of children's scenes and narratives.
The name Estell also found its way into the world of politics with Estell Crittenden Isbell (1904-1994), an American lawyer and judge who served as a United States District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma from 1959 to 1975.
Lastly, Estell Underwood (1915-2014), an American professional baseball player, left an indelible mark on the sport, particularly in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, where she excelled as a talented outfielder and pitcher during the 1940s.
These diverse individuals, spanning various fields and time periods, have carried the name Estell, contributing to its enduring legacy and rich tapestry of history.
People
Estell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Estell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Estell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Estell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 536 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Estell going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 639,467 US residents.
Is Estell a common name?
We classify Estell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,783 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Estell most popular?
The single biggest year for Estell was 1920, when 179 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Estell is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Estell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 591 people with the name Estell, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,272 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Estell in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Estell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Estell leans strongly female. 500 people counted with this name were female (83.1%), compared with 102 male bearers (16.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Estell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estell is Black at 42.5%. The next largest groups are White (39.9%) and Hispanic (11.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Estell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Estell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.5% (251 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Estell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Estell a female name?
Yes, 88.5% of people registered as Estell in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Estell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Estell in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Estell can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Estell?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Estell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.