Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Nester is a variant of Nestor. An origin associated with Nestor is Greek.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Nester through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 101
- 101 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 12 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 boys is 5 in 2011. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 12 in 1915. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 536 as a first name in 2020; 5,094 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.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Nester, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Einer
“a leading warrior”
>99% boys
Newt
“from the new town”
>99% boys
Newton
“from the new town”
>99% boys
Gardner
“one who works the earth” · “the keeper of the garden”
97% boys · 3% girls
Nels
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Lester
“roman fort” · “a man from Leicester”
>99% boys
Einar
“a leading warrior”
>99% boys
Elmer
“a renowned and noble man”
>99% boys