Hester

For other uses, see Hester (disambiguation).

Hester is both a female given name and a surname. As a given name Hester is a variant of Esther. As a surname it is of Germanic origin and uncertain meaning, possible roots being the Middle High German heister beech tree indicating residence near a beech tree, or a shared root with the modern German heißen to call indicating the profession of herald or town crier. In Ireland, particularly County Mayo, the surname Hester is found as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó hOistir descendant of Oistir.

Given name:

• Hester Adrian, Baroness Adrian (1899—1966), British mental health worker
• Hester Bateman (bap. 1708–1794), English silversmith
• Hester Biddle (c. 1629–97), English Quaker writer
• Hester Chapone (1727–1801), British author
• Hester A. Davis (1930–2014), American archaeologist
• Hester Dowden (1868–1949), Irish spiritualist medium
• Hester Dunn (b. 1940), Northern Irish former loyalist activist and writer
• Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith (1764-1857), British literary correspondent and intellectual
• Hester Goodsell (born 1984), British rower
• Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple (c. 1690–1752), English noblewoman
• Hester Jane Haskins (fl. 1860–75), American madam, procuress, and underworld figure
• Hester Kaplan, American author
• Hester Maclean (1859–1932), New Zealand nurse, editor and writer
• Maria Hester Park (1760–1813), British composer, pianist, and singer
• Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham (1720–1803), wife of William Pitt (the Elder), 1st Earl of Chatham, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768
• Lady Hester Pulter (b. 1605), British writer
• Catherine Hester Ralfe (c. 1831–1912), New Zealand dressmaker, teacher, storekeeper, housekeeper and diarist
• Hester Santlow (c. 1690–1773), British dancer and actress
• Lady Hester Stanhope (1776–1839), British socialite, adventurer and traveler
• Hester Thrale (1741–1821), British diarist, author, and patron of the arts
• Hester van Eeghen (b. 1958), Dutch designer
• Hester Wagstaff (b. 1892), British jewellery designer, potter and illustrator

Surname:

• Bart Hester (b. 1977), American politician
• Benny Hester (b. 1948), American music artist and songwriter
• Betty Hester (1923-1998), American correspondent
• Carolyn Hester (b. 1937), American folk singer and songwriter
• Dave Hester, star of A&E TV's Storage Wars
• Devin Hester (b. 1982), American football player
• Drew Hester (b. 1969), American percussionist and record producer
• Eric Hester (b. 1974), American composer
• Hugh B. Hester (1895-1983), American army officer
• Jack W. Hester (1929-1999), American politician
• Jacob Hester (b. 1985), American football player
• James McNaughton Hester (1924-2014), American educator
• Jessie Hester (b. 1963), American football player
• Joan Hester (b. 1932), American politician
• John Hester (b. 1983), American baseball player
• Joy Hester (1920-1960), Australian artist
• Laurel Hester (1956–2006), American police officer and advocate of rights of domestic partners
• Leigh Ann Hester (b. 1982), American soldier and Silver Star recipient
• Lex Hester (1935–2000), American public administrator
• Marc Hester (b. 1985), Danish professional bicycle racer
• Michael Hester (b. 1972), Australian-born New Zealand association football referee
• Paul Hester (1959–2005), Australian musician
• Paul V. Hester (b. 1947), American Air Force officer
• Phil Hester (comics) (b. 1966), comic book artist and writer
• Phillip Doyce Hester (b. 1955), former chief technology officer of Advanced Micro Devices
• Randolph T. Hester American professor, sociologist, and landscape architect
• Rita Hester (d. 1998), transgender African American murder victim
• Sandra Hester, American activist and former television host
• Stephen Hester (b. 1960), CEO of RSA Insurance Group
• Treyvon Hester (b. 1992), American football player
• Wallace Hester (1866-1942), British caricaturist for Vanity Fair
• William Hester, also known as Slew Hester (1912-1993), American tennis official

Fictional characters:

• Hester Latterly, main character of Anne Perry's Monk detective series
• Hester Prynne, main character of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
• The Character and Death of Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, a 1794 Methodist tract
• Hester Shaw, a character from Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet
• Hester Ulrich, a character from the 2015 American horror comedy television series, Scream Queens.
• Hester Crane, mother of Frasier Crane of Cheers and Frasier television shows.
• Hester, the daemon companion of Lee Scoresby in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.
• Hester Sherwood, one of the four characters from the Australian 2002 play Wicked Sisters by Alma De Groen.
• Hester, the daughter of the witch from Hansel and Gretel in School for Good and Evil

See also

• All pages with titles containing Hester
• Hessy, a related name and nickname