Given name & surname
Modeste
“moderate, calm, restrained, mild”
Modeste is a feminine given name from Latin. It is used in Norman.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Modeste goes back to a word meaning “moderate, calm, restrained, mild.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In Norman usage, Modeste is a feminine form of Modestus.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1890. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Modeste through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8
- 0 boys · 8 girls
- Most popular year
- 1890
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 8 in 1890. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 901 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Modeste’s family of names
In Norman usage, Modeste is a feminine form of Modestus. In French usage, Modeste shares a linguistic root with the Walloon form Modèsse.
The ring: across languages.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Modeste
- Modeste M'bamiCameroonian and French footballer (1982–2023)
- Modeste Bahati LukweboCongolese economist and politicianborn 1956
- Modeste AndlauerFrench jesuit, missionary, martyr, Catholic saint (1847-1900)
- Modeste DemersCatholic bishop (1809-1871)
- Modeste MutingaCongolese journalist and politicianborn 1953
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Modeste, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“mill”
—
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“wealth, riches”
>99% girls
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“quiet”
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“crowned in victory”
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Mojžiš
Mojžiš is a given name from Latin. It is used in Slovak.
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