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Lester - Origin and Meaning of the name

Meaning of the name Lester

[ 2 syll. les-ter, le-st-er ] The boy name Lester is sometimes used as a girl name. Its pronunciation is LEHSTer KEY. Lester is largely used in the English language and it is derived from Old English origins. Derived from the elements 'Ligora' ; 'caester' meaning Roman fort. The first name is from the surname, which is itself of the English place name now known as Leicester. The old form of the place name was known as 'Ligora caester' in the 10th century; 'Ligora' was possibly a tribal name, but its origin is obscure. The first name was initially used in the mid 19th century. Les (English short form) is a variant of Lester. See also the related form, Leicester (English).

Lester is unusual as a baby name for boys. Its usage peaked modestly in 1906 with 0.335% of baby boys being given the name Lester. It ranked at #52 then. The baby name has since markedly declined in popularity, and is now of irregular use. Among all boy names in its group, Lester was nonetheless the most popular in 2008. Lester has in the past century been mostly given to boys. In 1905, the name Lester was given to 52 times as many boys than girls.

Baby names that sound like Lester include the name Leicester (English) and the name Luister.

Details of famous persons named Lester:
Guitarist Les Paul, born Lester William Polsfuss, 9 June 1915, Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Jazz Musician Lester Young, born 27 August 1909 - 15 March 1959, Woodville, Mississippi.

KEY: Pronunciation for Lester: L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; T as in "tea (T.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)"


 
Popularity Trend
for Lester
from 1900 to 2008
Variant Popularity Chart
for Lester
in 2008
 

Meaning of Lester Meaning of Les Meaning of Lester Meaning of Leicester Meaning of Leslie Meaning of Alexander