Estes
From the Old French meaning "summer" or "summer meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Estes. It is a predominantly male name (91.8% of registrations). The average person named Estes today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Estes births was 1916 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Estes. 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.
People living today
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
1916
29 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,825
Tracked since 1887
Census
Estes in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 290 people with the first name Estes, which placed it at #30,183 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
#30,183
National first-name rank
People counted
290
290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Estes
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estes is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Hispanic (5.5%). 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 Estes 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 Estes at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.5% · 219
- Black or African American16.2% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 16
- Two or more races2.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Estes
Estes leans heavily male at 91.8% of total registrations, but 49 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Estes as a male name
- Ranked #12,825 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1916 (29 births)
Estes as a female name
- Ranked #15,979 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Estes on both sides of the split. Of the 287 people counted with this name, 224 were male (78.0%) and 63 were female (22.0%).
Popularity
Estes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Estes from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 158 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Estes remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Estes 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 Estes during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Estes' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Estes, while Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Estes
The name Estes has its origins in the French language and culture, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "estée," which means "summer." This term is thought to have originated from the Latin word "aestas," which also means "summer."
During the Middle Ages, the name Estes was likely used as a nickname or a descriptive name given to individuals who were born in the summer months or who had a sunny disposition. It was a common practice at the time to give names that reflected physical or personality traits, occupations, or other significant aspects of a person's life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Estes can be found in the 13th-century French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland." In this literary work, a character named Estes is mentioned, though little is known about his specific role or significance.
Throughout history, there have been several noteworthy individuals who bore the name Estes. One prominent figure was Estes Kefauver (1903-1963), an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952 and 1956.
Another notable individual was Estes Park (1863-1950), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the town of Estes Park, Colorado, and was instrumental in establishing Rocky Mountain National Park.
In the realm of literature, Estes Winslow Kingsolver (1911-1981) was an American author and poet known for his works depicting life in the American South. He published several collections of poetry and short stories during his career.
The name Estes also has connections to the world of sports. Estes P. Taylor (1856-1923) was an American baseball player who played in the Major Leagues from 1884 to 1890, primarily for the Detroit Wolverines.
Lastly, Estes G. Millner (1851-1931) was an American architect who designed several notable buildings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
While the name Estes has its roots in French language and culture, it has been adopted and used across various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries, over the centuries. Its connection to the summer season and its historical references have contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Estes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Estes 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
Estes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Estes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Estes 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 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Estes a common name?
We classify Estes as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 594 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Estes most popular?
The single biggest year for Estes was 1916, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Estes is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Estes in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 290 people with the name Estes, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,183 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 Estes 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 Estes?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Estes on both sides of the split. Of the 287 people counted with this name, 224 were male (78.0%) and 63 were female (22.0%). 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 Estes?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estes is White at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Hispanic (5.5%). 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 Estes most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Estes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.5% (219 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 Estes in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Estes a male name?
Yes, 91.8% of people registered as Estes 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 Estes still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Estes 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 Estes 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 Estes?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.