Estel
A Sindarin name meaning "hope" or "blessing".
Name Census estimates that about 608 living Americans carry the first name Estel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Estel today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Estel births was 1921 (107 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Estel. 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 Estel is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Estels were born before 1962.
People living today
608
~ 1 in 563,741 Americans
Peak year
1921
107 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1981 SSA rank
#6,586
Tracked since 1893
Census
Estel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 820 people with the first name Estel, which placed it at #14,393 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
#14,393
National first-name rank
People counted
820
820 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Estel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estel is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.3%) and Black (4.6%). 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 Estel 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 Estel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 613
- Hispanic or Latino16.3% · 134
- Black or African American4.6% · 38
- Two or more races2.2% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Estel
Estel leans heavily male at 83.6% of total registrations, but 467 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Estel as a male name
- Ranked #6,586 in 1981
- 5 male births in 1981
- Peak: 1921 (87 births)
Estel as a female name
- Ranked #12,535 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1916 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Estel on both sides of the split. Of the 817 people counted with this name, 561 were male (68.7%) and 256 were female (31.3%).
Popularity
Estel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Estel from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 827 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
Estel 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 Estel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Estels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia recorded the most babies named Estel, while Michigan, Texas, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 81 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Estel
The name Estel is derived from the Sindarin Elvish language, created by J.R.R. Tolkien for his fictional universe of Middle-earth. It means "hope" or "trust" in Sindarin, and was the Elvish name given to Aragorn, the heir to the throne of Gondor, in Tolkien's epic fantasy novel "The Lord of the Rings."
Tolkien drew inspiration from various ancient languages and mythologies when creating his Elvish languages and naming conventions. The name Estel may have been influenced by the Old Norse word "ást," meaning "love" or "affection," as well as the Old English word "ést," meaning "grace" or "favor."
In Tolkien's legendary tales, Aragorn was initially raised by Elrond, the Elven lord of Rivendell, under the name Estel to conceal his true identity and protect him from the forces of evil. His true name, Aragorn, was not revealed until he came of age and embarked on his quest to reclaim the throne of Gondor.
Outside of Tolkien's fictional works, the name Estel has been adopted by some individuals, particularly those inspired by the themes and characters from his writings. However, it remains relatively uncommon as a given name.
One notable individual named Estel was Estel Lizarraga (1942-2018), a Spanish poet, writer, and translator. She was known for her works exploring themes of identity, feminism, and social issues.
Another person with the name Estel was Estel Vilarrodona (1934-2003), a Catalan writer and journalist who published several novels and short story collections during her career.
In the world of music, Estel Masià is a Spanish singer-songwriter who has released several albums since the early 2000s, blending folk and pop styles.
Estel Solé (born 1975) is a Spanish actress and television presenter, best known for her work in various Catalan television series and films.
While not a widely used name, Estel holds significant meaning and symbolism within the realm of Tolkien's literary works, representing hope, resilience, and the fulfillment of destiny. Its unique origins and ties to the rich world of Middle-earth have contributed to its adoption by individuals drawn to its powerful connotations.
People
Estel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Estel 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
Estel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Estel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 608 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Estel 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 563,741 US residents.
Is Estel a common name?
We classify Estel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,841 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Estel most popular?
The single biggest year for Estel was 1921, when 107 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Estel is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Estel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 820 people with the name Estel, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,393 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 Estel 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 Estel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Estel on both sides of the split. Of the 817 people counted with this name, 561 were male (68.7%) and 256 were female (31.3%). 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 Estel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estel is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.3%) and Black (4.6%). 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 Estel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Estel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (613 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 Estel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Estel a male name?
Yes, 83.6% of people registered as Estel in the SSA data are male. 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 Estel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Estel 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 Estel 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 common is the name Estel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Estel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.