Given name
Esben
“of God”
Esben is used as a given name. One Scandinavian interpretation is “of God.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Scandinavian interpretation is “of God.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scandinavian.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2011. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Esben through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 143
- 143 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,076 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −15%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,076 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 15.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Esben’s family of names
Esben shares a linguistic root with Esbjörn. Esben has a related form in Esbin. Esben has a related form in Esban.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Esben
- Esben Lunde LarsenDanish politicianborn 1978
- Esben HansenDanish footballerborn 1981
- Esben SmedDanish actorborn 1984
- Esben Esther Pirelli BenestadNorwegian physician and professor emerit (born 1949)
- Esben Holmboe BangDanish chefborn 1982
- Esben StormAustralian actor, television producer, and director (1950–2011)
- Esben ReinholtDanish basketball player (born 1993)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Esben, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hakon
“of the chosen race; one who is exalted”
>99% boys
Boden
“one who brings news; a herald” · “one who provides shelter or is sheltered”
>99% boys
Kasen
“one who is pure; chaste” · “protected by a helmet”
>99% boys
Kallan
“of the flowing water” · “powerful in battle”
83% boys · 17% girls
Gleb
“god's heir”
>99% boys
Trygg
“one who speaks the truth”
>99% boys
Tyke
“one who is determined”
>99% boys
Ronak
“a powerful man”
84% boys · 16% girls