Hester

Hester is only a female given name and a surname. As a given name Hester is a variant of Esther. As a surname it is of Italian origin and uncertain meaning. In Ireland, particularly County Mayo, the surname Hester is found as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó hOistir descendant of Oistir, who was likely an early 13th century immigrant from Tuscany.

Given name

 * Hester Adrian, Baroness Adrian (1899—1966), British mental health worker
 * Hester Bateman (bap. 1708–1794), English silversmith
 * Hester A. Benedict (1838-1921), American poet and writer
 * Hester Biddle (c. 1629–97), English Quaker writer
 * Hester Chapone (1727–1801), British author
 * Hester A. Davis (1930–2014), American archaeologist
 * Hester Dowden (1868–1949), Irish spiritualist medium
 * Hester Dunn (b. 1940), Northern Irish former loyalist activist and writer
 * Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith (1764-1857), British literary correspondent and intellectual
 * Hester Goodsell (born 1984), British rower
 * Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple (c. 1690–1752), English noblewoman
 * Hester Jane Haskins (fl. 1860–75), American madam, procuress, and underworld figure
 * Hester Kaplan, American author
 * Hester Maclean (1859–1932), New Zealand nurse, editor and writer
 * Maria Hester Park (1760–1813), British composer, pianist, and singer
 * Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham (1720–1803), wife of William Pitt (the Elder), 1st Earl of Chatham, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768
 * Lady Hester Pulter (1605–1678), British writer
 * Catherine Hester Ralfe (c. 1831–1912), New Zealand dressmaker, teacher, storekeeper, housekeeper and diarist
 * Hester Dorsey Richardson (1862-1933), American author
 * Hester Santlow (c. 1690–1773), British dancer and actress
 * Lady Hester Stanhope (1776–1839), British socialite, adventurer and traveler
 * Hester Thrale (1741–1821), British diarist, author, and patron of the arts
 * Hester van Eeghen (1958–2021), Dutch designer
 * Hester Veltman-Kamp (born 1973), Dutch politician

Surname

 * Bart Hester (b. 1977), American politician
 * Benny Hester (b. 1948), American music artist and songwriter
 * Betty Hester (1923-1998), American correspondent
 * Bianca Hester, Australian artist, winner of the Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture in 2005 and 2011
 * Carolyn Hester (b. 1937), American folk singer and songwriter
 * Dave Hester, star of A&E TV's Storage Wars
 * Devin Hester (b. 1982), American football player
 * Drew Hester (b. 1969), American percussionist and record producer
 * Eric Hester (b. 1974), American composer
 * Frank Hester (b. 1966), British businessman
 * Hugh B. Hester (1895-1983), American army officer
 * Jack W. Hester (1929-1999), American politician
 * Jacob Hester (b. 1985), American football player
 * James McNaughton Hester (1924-2014), American educator
 * Jessie Hester (b. 1963), American football player
 * Joan Hester (1932–2019), American politician
 * John Hester (b. 1983), American baseball player
 * Joy Hester (1920-1960), Australian artist
 * Laurel Hester (1956–2006), American police officer and advocate of rights of domestic partners
 * Leigh Ann Hester (b. 1982), American soldier and Silver Star recipient
 * Lex Hester (1935–2000), American public administrator
 * Marc Hester (b. 1985), Danish professional bicycle racer
 * Michael Hester (b. 1972), Australian-born New Zealand association football referee
 * Paul Hester (1959–2005), Australian musician
 * Paul V. Hester (b. 1947), American Air Force officer
 * Phil Hester (comics) (b. 1966), comic book artist and writer
 * Phillip Doyce Hester (1955–2013), former chief technology officer of Advanced Micro Devices
 * Randolph T. Hester American professor, sociologist, and landscape architect
 * Ray Hester (1949–1977), American football player
 * Rita Hester (d. 1998), transgender African American murder victim
 * Sandra Hester, American activist and former television host
 * Stephen Hester (b. 1960), CEO of RSA Insurance Group
 * Treyvon Hester (b. 1992), American football player
 * Wallace Hester (1866-1942), British caricaturist for Vanity Fair
 * William Hester, also known as Slew Hester (1912-1993), American tennis official

Fictional characters

 * Hester Argyle, a character in Agatha Christie's novel Ordeal by Innocence
 * Hester Latterly, main character of Anne Perry's Monk detective series
 * Hester Prynne, main character of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
 * The Character and Death of Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, a 1794 Methodist tract
 * Hester Shaw, a character from Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet
 * Hester Ulrich, a character from the 2015 American horror comedy television series, Scream Queens.
 * Hester Crane, mother of Frasier Crane of Cheers and Frasier television shows.
 * Hester, the daemon companion of Lee Scoresby in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.
 * Hester Sherwood, one of the four characters from the Australian 2002 play Wicked Sisters by Alma De Groen.
 * Hester, the daughter of the witch from Hansel and Gretel in School for Good and Evil