The baby name Estelle is a vintage gem with a shining meaning. After years of being eclipsed by similar choices, it might be Estelle’s time to shine once more.
Thanks to Toni for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day and Kathleen for requesting an update.
STELLA the STAR
The baby name Stella returned to the US Top 1000 in 1998, and steadily climbed in use. By 2010, it entered the US Top 100. It’s still there, well over a decade later, a staple choice for a daughter.
Stella succeed for so many reasons: it followed similar names like Bella and Ella up the charts. Popular culture gave us plenty of celebrities choosing the name. And the meaning, fit, too, at a moment when parents were attracted to nature names and night sky favorites.
But the story of Stella can’t be told without talking about an entire cluster of starry choices.
LATIN ORIGIN
During the late 19th century, Estelle, Stella, and Estella all charted in the US Top 1000.
They all come from the Latin stella, meaning star.
It might have first been used as a given name in Aquitania, then part of Gaul; now knon as southern France. Legend tells that, in the third century AD, the daughter of a powerful pagan family converted to Christianity. When she refused to recant, Estelle died a martyr. She’s been considered a saint, and the patron saint of girls, ever since.
Saint Estelle’s feast day is celebrated on May 11th, but little of her story is known beyond these broad details.
Estelle is slightly similar to Esther, an Old Testament name possibly meaning star. But Esther’s origins are Persian. So any similarity to Estelle is coincidental, though it’s easy to imagine someone misunderstanding Estelle as a French form of Esther.
While Estelle was not known in the English-speaking world during the Middle Ages, various forms have been used in parts of the world ever since.
FAMOUS FIGURES
In fact, various versions of the name have popped up in history and literature for centuries, including:
- Elizabethan poet Sir Philip Sidney penned Astrophel and Stella in 1581.
- Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations included character Estella Havisham, Pip’s crush with a heart of ice. It’s been adapted multiple times as a movie, most recently in 1998, with Gwyneth Paltrow in the role of Estella.
- Tennessee Williams’ 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire immortalized Stella as a long-suffering, down-on-her-luck Southern belle. Marlon Brando’s legendary scream “Stella” in 1951’s movie version remains unrivaled cinematic legend.
- The Ronettes scored a series of hits in the 1960s. Veronica “Ronnie” Spector was the breakout star, but her older sister Estelle Bennett was also one of the founding members.
- Australian model, musician, and activist Estelle Asmodelle was well known in the 1980s for her personal history, though in recent years, she is focused on academic work in astronomy and physics.
- Comedian Estelle Getty enjoyed a long career as an actress. Later in life, she was best known for playing Golden Girls matriarch Sophia Petrillo.
- TV show Seinfeld gave us Estelle Costanza, mother to George – played by actress Estelle Harris. And on another small screen staple, Friends, Joey’s barely competent agent was Estelle Leonard.
- Back in 2003, another TV series used the name: ITV’s Fortysomething profiled couple Paul and Estelle, along with their children and extended circle. It wasn’t a hit, but is noteworthy because it helped launch the career of Benedict Cumberbatch, who played their eldest son.
- British singer and actress Estelle also puts the name on expectant parents’ radar, especially following her 2008 hit “American Boy.”
PRINCESS ESTELLE of SWEDEN
For another high profile Estelle, we turn to the Swedish throne.
Born in 2012, Princess Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary is the eldest daughter of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden. She holds the title Duchess of Östergötland. Thanks to a change in succession laws, she’s also the first born female heir apparent in Swedish history.
It was an unusual choice for the Swedish royal family. Speculation suggested that she was named for Countess Estelle Bernadotte.
American-born heiress Estelle Manville married into the Swedish royal family and served as an advocate for causes like the International Red Cross. Her husband, Count Folke Bernadotte, served as a mediator for the United Nations. He was assassinated while working in Jerusalem in 1948.
Regardless of the reasons the royals chose Estelle for the future queen, the name has gained steadily in popularity since her birth.
BY the NUMBERS
The baby name Estelle is growing in use in the United States, too.
In the year 2000, just 63 girls received the name. By 2022, there were over 400 newborn Estelles.
That’s many fewer than Stella, of course, and behind Estella, too. Though romance language Estela, heard in Spanish and Portuguese, remains the least-used. Instead, Estrella – the Spanish word for star – is closer to Estelle in terms of use. The sometimes seen Estell has fallen out of use since the middle of the twentieth century.
It all suggests that Estelle has plenty of potential for revival.
After all, baby girl names like Gabrielle, Annabelle, and Isabelle have had a good run. Easy nicknames, like Elle and Ellie, also help.
Since returning to the US Top 1000 in 2012, Estelle has reached the Top 800 names in the US. Still miles to go, but no longer stuck in style limbo.
If you’re looking for a vintage name with a quietly Frnech vibe, Estelle is far less expected than Vivienne or Genevieve.
With a shining, night sky meaning and a strong, established sound, the baby name Estelle could be poised to return to the spotlight.
I named my daughter Estelle (she’s just under a year now) and love the name. I’ve never heard of anyone else with her name at all. Old-fashioned names are coming back, and I already hear too many Charlottes and Avas. Estelle is very beautiful and unique.
Gosh, I like Estelle so so much more then Estella or Stella! A ending names are so ubiquitous now that I think this sounds much fresher!
Had a baby four months ago and named her Estelle. Funny enough, we loved both names, but Charlotte was our first pick, until we saw the popularity charts. Our older daughters are Corinne and Gwyneth – all three are old fashioned, but I don’t think of old ladies when I see my beautiful kids!
My middle name is Estelle and I love it. It’s a family name and I plan on keeping Estelle or Estella in the family. My mother and brothers have called me Sissy since I was little, it was their nickname for Estelle. I don’t see it as an old lady name, even though it was my great grandmothers name, she was a lovely woman. I feel Estelle should make a comeback, it’s a beautiful name and really could have various nicknames.
Wow – I can’t believe she doesn’t even chart on the top 1000 – that’s just baffling to me, for reasons pp have pointed out. It just seems like a name that would be catching on!
Now, Etelle is another one of those names – similar to Eliza, Sarah or Mia – that I just don’t like, and can’t put my finger on why. It’s really annoying me too! I adore Stella to pieces (she sits around #40 in my state), and I think of anything but old lady, but I just can’t seem to get my head around her. I can see and appreciate her appeal though, I guess 🙂
Funny that, I just met my first Estelle the other day! New kid at school – so nice to meet someone my age in my area who isn’t called Charlotte, Lucy or Georgina.
I don’t get why this name isn’t more popular – lovely meaning (and a much classier way of sounding celestial than calling your kid Starr or McHeavenLiegh), ages well, sounds very pretty and graceful but strong at the same time. I understand it’s kind of geriatric, but once upon a time Emily and Isabella were old lady names and look where they are now! Mm, that’s the other thing, it has the ever-popular “elle” ending (I don’t really mind it here), why have more people not latched onto this one!
This name is a real beauty and it gets two big thumbs up from me.
I can’t help but prefer Stella over both Estelle and Estella, no matter how much I want to like those other names. I feel like I should like Estelle, since I’ve warmed up to Esther (as mentioned by JNE), but it still sounds old and dusty to me.
I rather like Estelle, I think she’s pretty & lighthearted. She reminds me of Eloise for some reason.
Funny, I hadn’t thought of Estelle Getty, but rather Estelle Reiner, wife of Carl Reiner (of the Golden Girls names, Dorothy’s my love) instead. Just goes to show where my head is, apparently. 🙂
Estelle has a a great history (Sidney also created Pamela, I think) and a pretty sound. She creeps into the middle spot for me, occasionally. I like her just enough to put her there, but not up front. I briefly considered Stella for Josie, early on but decided I didn’t like Stella enough to bother. An Estelle could still be a Stella, nickname wise, anyway. So why not go the slightly more unexpected route with Estelle? Light, lyrical, sweet Estelle.
So funny that you should say that ! My name is Estelle, and my sister whom I’m very close to is named Éloïse ! We are 1 1/2 years apart and we have always shared everything.
This name is in my top 5 for girls. It’s not as frilly as Estella, and a little more graceful than Stella. For some reason I never think of it as an old lady’s name.
I want to like Estelle – and on some level I do – but somehow it’s very similar to Esther to me… which is another name I want to like, but I just don’t. Maybe it’s the “Es” up front, or the granny thing (although I go for some granny-type names). Maybe it’s that it’s not as feminine as Stella, but I’m not really one for the frou-frou names. I can’t put my finger on it exactly. But the star connection is definitely appealing and it’s easy to see how the “elle” part fits in with the elle/ella/ellie names/nicknames. I certainly wouldn’t think it “out there” for someone to choose the name. I guess I like it for someone else, but not for me.